Lacosamide as a first-line treatment option in focal epilepsy: a cost-utility analysis for the Greek healthcare system.

Background And Aims: Epilepsy is the most common serious neurological disorder worldwide. Approximately 40% of patients with focal epileptic seizures remain uncontrolled with antiepileptic drug (AED) monotherapy or polytherapy. Lacosamide has been recently approved by the European Medicines Agency as monotherapy for the treatment of focal seizures.

Temporal pole proton preoperative magnetic resonance spectroscopy in patients undergoing surgery for mesial temporal sclerosis.

Object: The purpose of this prospective study was to compare the results of proton MR spectroscopy (MRS) in temporal poles in patients with unilateral mesial temporal sclerosis (MTS) with the histopathological findings of the resected temporal poles.

Methods: A total of 23 patients (14 male and 9 female) with a mean age of 25.2 years (range 17-45 years) were included in this study, which was conducted over a 4-year period.

An open-label, add-on study of pregabalin in patients with partial seizures: a multicenter trial in Greece.

Introduction: Pregabalin efficacy and safety as an adjunctive treatment for partial seizures was evaluated using an open-label, flexible-dose.

Study Design: In 98 adults with refractory partial epilepsy taking 1-3 anti-epileptic drugs with ≥2 seizures during an 8-week baseline period.

Methods: Pregabalin was increased to ≤600 mg/day during a 9-week dose optimization period with dosage maintained for 12 additional weeks.

Add-on topiramate in the treatment of refractory partial-onset epilepsy: clinical experience of outpatient epilepsy clinics from 11 general hospitals.

An open, prospective, observational study was performed to assess efficacy and adverse-event profile of topiramate as add-on therapy in epilepsy. Outpatient neurology clinics from 11 general hospitals in Greece participated in the study. In total, 211 patients with treatment resistant partial-onset seizures who met the inclusion criteria, were studied.

Typical absence status in adults: diagnostic and syndromic considerations.

Purpose: To study the electroclinical features of typical absence status (TAS) in adults with syndromes of idiopathic generalized epilepsies (IGEs).

Methods: Twenty-one patients with one or more spells of TAS were identified among 136 consecutive adult patients with IGEs. All patients with TAS had comprehensive electroclinical investigations and EEG or video-EEG recorded absences.

Idiopathic generalised epilepsy in adults manifested by phantom absences, generalised tonic-clonic seizures, and frequent absence status.

Objectives: To describe the clinical and EEG features of adult patients with very mild absences, late onset generalised tonic clonic seizures, and frequent absence status.

Methods: Patients were referrals to a clinic for epilepsies. They all had clinical assessment and EEG, video EEG, or both for documentation of absences.

Eyelid myoclonia with absences in adults: a clinical and video-EEG study.

We report clinical and video-EEG findings in 11 adults with the syndro me of eyelid myoclonia with absences (EMA). Prevalence was 2.7% among all epilepsies and 12.

Qualitative and quantitative abnormalities of breath counting during brief generalized 3 Hz spike and slow wave 'subclinical' discharges.

We aimed to validate the technique of breath counting during overbreathing in revealing ictal impairment of cognition during brief generalized 3 Hz spike and slow wave discharges. A retrospective study of 66 patients with video-electroencephalographic documentation of typical absence seizures revealed 8 patients in whom there was no clinical suspicion of absences but who had brief (less than 4 seconds) generalized 3 Hz spike-wave discharges. The only clinical manifestations of the absences were abnormalities in breath counting during overbreathing.

Posterior agyria-pachygyria with polymicrogyria: evidence for an inherited neuronal migration disorder.

We describe two brothers with mental retardation and refractory epilepsy. MRI revealed symmetrical agyria-pachygyria of the temporo-occipito-parietal regions, areas of deeply infolded polymicrogyric parietal cortex, and dilated occipital horns (colpocephaly). The stereotyped clinical, EEG, and MRI findings suggest that this may be a distinct inherited condition and imply that agyria-pachygyria with polymicrogyria is not always sporadic.

Evaluation of the "monolog" spike and wave monitor: a study on patients with typical absences.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness and accuracy of the "monolog," a pocket-size spike and wave monitor, in patients with typical absence seizures. Two observers were scoring independently and blindly from the monitor the number and duration of the 3 Hz spike-wave discharges from the EEG recordings of 10 selected patients having typical absences. High correlation was found between the two observers' scorings for both the number and the mean duration of events (Spearman's rank correlation (r): 0.

Video game induced seizures.

Fifteen patients who experienced epileptic seizures while playing video games are described together with a review of 20 cases in the English literature. Nine of the 15 cases and all but two of the reported cases experienced their first seizure while playing video games. Two thirds of patients had idiopathic generalised epilepsy and mainly reported generalised tonic clonic seizures, but some had typical absence seizures and myoclonic jerks while playing video games.