Reduced Gastric Contraction in Rapid-Eye-Movement Sleep Behavior Disorder and De Novo Parkinson's Disease.

Background: Reduced gastric motility in Parkinson's disease (PD) has been reported, but hardly any study exists in subjects with isolated rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (iRBD), a specific prodrome of α-synucleinopathies.

Objectives: We compared the gastric motility of 17 iRBD subjects with that of 18 PD subjects (15 drug naive, 3 early treated in defined off) and 15 healthy controls (HC) with real-time magnetic resonance imaging (rtMRI).

Methods: After overnight fasting, participants consumed a standardized breakfast and underwent a 3-T rtMRI of the stomach.

Fractures in Parkinson's Disease: injury patterns, hospitalization, and therapeutic aspects.

Aim: The primary aim of this study was to analyze the frequency and characteristic patterns of fall-related fractures as well as consecutive hospitalization and management relating to such fractures. In addition, important pathognomonic and therapeutic aspects are discussed.

Methods: This retrospective mono-center study was conducted at the University Hospital Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

Characteristics of bilateral versus unilateral temporal encephalocele-associated epilepsy.

Purpose: To characterise bilateral temporal encephalocele (BTE)-associated epilepsy relative to unilateral temporal encephalocele (UTE)-associated epilepsy as a rare but curable cause of structural epilepsy using demographics, epilepsy status and imaging findings.

Method: In this single-centre retrospective study we included all patients from June 2015 to August 2018, who suffered from epilepsy and were diagnosed with a temporal encephalocele. Data were systematically collected and analysed for differences between BTE and UTE.

Improved synthetic T1-weighted images for cerebral tissue segmentation in neurological diseases.

Structural cerebral MRI analysis in patients with neurological diseases usually requires T1-weighted datasets for tissue segmentation. For this purpose, synthetic T1-weighted images which are constructed from quantitative maps of the underlying tissue parameters such as the T1 relaxation time and the proton density (PD) may provide advantages over conventional datasets. However, in some cases synthetic images may suffer from specific artifacts, hampering accurate tissue segmentation.

Prevalence, risk factors and therapeutic aspects of injuries and accidents in women with epilepsy.

Background: Epilepsy-related injuries and accidents (ERIA) are a frequent cause of hospitalisation and represent a relevant burden for patients with epilepsy. In particular, osteoporosis and other gender-specific aspects may increase the risk of seizure-related fractures and injuries in women with epilepsy.

Aim And Scope: The aim of this analysis is to determine the prevalence and clinical nature of ERIA in a cohort of women with epilepsy, to identify possible determinants including osteoporosis and to give an overview of the current knowledge of clinically important prophylactic and therapeutic aspects.

Eslicarbazepine acetate in epilepsies with focal and secondary generalised seizures: systematic review of current evidence.

Eslicarbazepine acetate (ESL) is a third-generation antiepileptic drug (AED) approved for adjunctive treatment in adults, children, and adolescents with focal-onset seizures. Recently ESL was approved for initial monotherapy in adults. The intention of this article is to review current evidence for ESL and to summarise its pharmacological profile in comparison to other AEDs of the dibenzazepine group.

Postmarketing experience with brivaracetam in the treatment of epilepsies: A multicenter cohort study from Germany.

Objective: To evaluate factors predicting efficacy, retention, and tolerability of add-on brivaracetam (BRV) in clinical practice.

Methods: A multicenter, retrospective cohort study recruiting all patients who started BRV between February and November 2016 with observation time between 3 and 12 months.

Results: Of a total of 262 patients (mean age 40, range 5-81 years, 129 male) treated with BRV, 227 (87%) were diagnosed to have focal, 19 (7%) idiopathic generalized and 8 (3%) symptomatic generalized epilepsy, whereas 8 (3%) were unclassified.

The efficacy of lacosamide as monotherapy and adjunctive therapy in focal epilepsy and its use in status epilepticus: clinical trial evidence and experience.

Lacosamide (LCM) is approved for anticonvulsive treatment in focal epilepsy and exhibits its function through the slow inactivation of voltage-gated sodium channels (VGSCs). LCM shows comparable efficacy with other antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) licensed in the last decade: in three randomized placebo-controlled trials, significant median seizure reduction rates of 35.2% for 200 mg/day, 36.

Lacosamide in status epilepticus: Systematic review of current evidence.

Objective: The intravenous formulation of lacosamide (LCM) and its good overall tolerability and safety favor the use in status epilepticus (SE). The aim of this systematic review was to identify and evaluate studies reporting on the use of LCM in SE.

Methods: We performed a systematic literature search of electronic databases using a combined search strategy from 2008 until October 2016.