Seizure Outcomes and Reoperation in Surgical Rasmussen Encephalitis Patients.

Background: Rasmussen encephalitis (RE) is a rare inflammatory disease affecting one hemisphere, causing progressive neurological deficits and intractable seizures.

Objective: To report long-term seizure outcomes, reoperations, and functional outcomes in patients with RE who underwent hemispherectomy at our institution.

Methods: Retrospective review was performed for all patients with RE who had surgery between 1998 and 2020.

Top 100 cited studies in periacetabular osteotomy for acetabular dysplasia: do lower levels of evidence guide clinical practice?

As no prior study has examined the citations profile of key articles related to periacetabular osteotomy (PAO), our analysis utilized the Web of Science database to (1) identify the most-cited clinical studies relating to PAO in the management of acetabular dysplasia and (2) assess any trends over time with respect to the quality of literature. The top 100 highest-cited studies related to PAO had a mean of 49 citations (range, 6-666 per study). With respect to the level of evidence, most studies had level IV evidence (58%); 1% level I, 16% level II, 28% level III and 2% level V.

The Clinical Utility of Surgical Histopathology in Predicting Seizure Outcomes in Patients with Rasmussen Encephalitis Undergoing Hemispherectomy.

Objective: The objectives of this study were to determine the relationship between the severity of pathology and seizure outcomes in patients who underwent hemispherectomy for Rasmussen encephalitis (RE) and to investigate which clinical factors correlated with severity of pathology.

Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, we collected and reviewed pathology and clinical variables. We ascertained seizure outcomes using Engel's classification, and Pardo stages were used to grade pathology.

Secondary Stroke Risk Reduction in Black Adults: a Systematic Review.

Objective: To address the fact that Black adults (BAs) experience significantly greater stroke burden than the general population, we conducted a systematic literature review which described evidence-based interventions targeting secondary stroke risk reduction in BAs.

Data Source: Publications were selected from PubMed, Ovid, Cochrane, and Web of Science databases. We included peer-reviewed, longitudinal, English-language studies performed in the USA which reported results for BAs separately and had adult participants who had experienced stroke-related events.

A systematic literature review of health disparities among rural people with epilepsy (RPWE) in the United States and Canada.

Background: Epilepsy is a leading cause of global disease burden, with people with epilepsy (PWE) experiencing adverse health outcomes related to the psychiatric comorbidities and socioeconomic consequences of the disorder. Rural populations are more likely to be impoverished or uninsured, which could impact health outcomes for rural-dwelling PWE (RPWE).

Aims: This systematic literature review identified original research studying health disparities and outcomes among RPWE in the United States and Canada to (1) characterize the disparities faced by RPWE and (2) elucidate the effects of these disparities upon clinical outcomes.

Systematic Literature Review of Psychiatric Comorbidities in Adults with Epilepsy.

Background And Purpose: Mental illness is disproportionately common in people with epilepsy (PWE). This systematic literature review identified original research articles that reported the prevalence of psychiatric comorbidities based upon clinical assessments in a sample of PWE and assessed the clinical features of the populations found in studies included in our review of mental health comorbidity.

Methods: The included articles were written in English and published from 2008 to 2018, and focused on adults aged ≥18 years who had psychiatric diagnoses determined in clinical assessments, such as those found in medical records, clinician psychiatric evaluations, structured diagnostic interviews, and mental health screening questionnaires specific for a psychiatric disorder.

A systematic literature review of recommendations for referral to specialty care for patients with epilepsy.

Objective: In epilepsy, patients who receive appropriate care receive treatment that differs substantially from those that do not. Given the need for a more detailed assessment of the role of specialty referral in the care of patients with epilepsy, this systematic literature review identified epilepsy care guidelines and recommendations that specifically address when and why people with epilepsy should be referred to specialty care.

Methods: This study identified recent (in the last 10 years) publications that made best-practice recommendations for referring people with epilepsy to a neurologist or epileptologist.

Ethnicity and health outcomes among people with epilepsy participating in an epilepsy self-management RCT.

People with epilepsy (PWE) may experience negative health events (NHEs) such as seizures, emergency room visits, and hospitalizations, with ethnic and racial minorities disproportionately affected. Epilepsy self-management may reduce NHEs; however, few reports examine self-management outcomes in racial minorities. Using data from a longitudinal 6-month randomized controlled trial (RCT) of 120 PWE, this analysis compared African-American and Whites at baseline, 10 weeks and 24 weeks after receiving the "Self-management for people with epilepsy (SMART) and a history of NHEs" self-management program.

Hotspots of dendritic spine turnover facilitate clustered spine addition and learning and memory.

Modeling studies suggest that clustered structural plasticity of dendritic spines is an efficient mechanism of information storage in cortical circuits. However, why new clustered spines occur in specific locations and how their formation relates to learning and memory (L&M) remain unclear. Using in vivo two-photon microscopy, we track spine dynamics in retrosplenial cortex before, during, and after two forms of episodic-like learning and find that spine turnover before learning predicts future L&M performance, as well as the localization and rates of spine clustering.

Development of a fuzzy logic based intelligent system for autonomous guidance of post-stroke rehabilitation exercise.

This paper presents preliminary studies in developing a fuzzy logic based intelligent system for autonomous post-stroke upper-limb rehabilitation exercise. The intelligent system autonomously varies control parameters to generate different haptic effects on the robotic device. The robotic device is able to apply both resistive and assistive forces for guiding the patient during the exercise.

Habituation of the C-start response in larval zebrafish exhibits several distinct phases and sensitivity to NMDA receptor blockade.

The zebrafish larva has been a valuable model system for genetic and molecular studies of development. More recently, biologists have begun to exploit the surprisingly rich behavioral repertoire of zebrafish larvae to investigate behavior. One prominent behavior exhibited by zebrafish early in development is a rapid escape reflex (the C-start).