Effectiveness of a Self-Management Program to Improve Cognition and Quality of Life in Epilepsy: A Pragmatic, Randomized, Multicenter Trial.

Background And Objectives: We conducted a multisite, pragmatic replication trial at 4 New England epilepsy centers to determine the effectiveness of Home-Based Self-Management and Cognitive Training Changes Lives (HOBSCOTCH) in a real-world setting and to assess feasibility of a virtual intervention.

Methods: HOBSCOTCH is an 8-session intervention addressing cognitive impairment and quality of life (QoL) for people with epilepsy (PWE). Participants were recruited from epilepsy centers in 4 states and block-randomized into the following groups: in-person HOBSCOTCH (H-IP), virtual HOBSCOTCH (H-V), and waitlist control.

Psychiatric provider comfort and perception regarding psychogenic nonepileptic seizures.

The treatment of psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) involves psychotherapy: yet there is a gap in the understanding of the perceptions and comfort of therapy providers regarding PNES. In this study, we surveyed providers of therapy, including psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, physician assistants, psychologists, and social workers, to collect information regarding their comfort and perceptions in caring for individuals with PNES. This study identified differences between physician and non-physician groups in training about PNES and in exposure to patients with PNES.

Self-management practices associated with quality of life for adults with epilepsy.

Epilepsy self-management practices enhance a patient's competence and confidence in managing their chronic condition, which is assumed to lead to an improved quality of life (QoL). We analyzed the relationship between the Epilepsy Self-Management Scale (ESMS) responses and the Quality of Life in Epilepsy (QOLIE-31) scores. Baseline questionnaires from HOBSCOTCH, a self-management program for cognitive problems, were administered in four New England epilepsy centers on adults (n = 100) with epilepsy and subjective memory complaints.

Efficacy of surgical treatment of de novo, adult-onset, cryptogenic, refractory focal status epilepticus.

Background: There have been few published reports of successful surgical treatment of focal status epilepticus. Surgical intervention is considered a last resort after medical strategies have been exhausted.

Objective: To report a case of an adult who was initially seen with de novo, medically refractory, cryptogenic focal status epilepticus and underwent resection of an electrographically defined portion of the left middle frontal gyrus with multiple subpial transections of the adjacent cortex resulting in termination of the electroclinical seizure activity.

Mechanisms underlying the production of carapace vibrations and associated waterborne sounds in the American lobster, Homarus americanus.

American lobsters produce carapace vibrations, which also lead to waterborne acoustic signals, by simultaneously contracting the antagonistic remotor and promotor muscles located at the base of the second antenna. These vibrations have a mean frequency of 183.1 Hz (range 87-261 Hz), range in duration from 68 to 1720 ms (mean 277.