KCNA2 IgG autoimmunity in neuropsychiatric diseases.

Background: Autoantibodies against the potassium voltage-gated channel subfamily A member 2 (KCNA2) have been described in a few cases of neuropsychiatric disorders, but their diagnostic and pathophysiological role is currently unknown, imposing challenges to medical practice.

Design / Methods: We retrospectively collected comprehensive clinical and paraclinical data of 35 patients with KCNA2 IgG autoantibodies detected in cell-based and tissue-based assays. Patients' sera and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were used for characterization of the antigen, clinical-serological correlations, and determination of IgG subclasses.

Determinants of quality of life in adults with epilepsy: a multicenter, cross-sectional study from Germany.

Background: Assessment of quality of life (QoL) has become an important indicator for chronic neurological diseases. While these conditions often limit personal independence and autonomy, they are also associated with treatment-related problems and reduced life expectancy. Epilepsy has a tremendous impact on the QoL of patients and their families, which is often underestimated by practitioners.

Differential expression of CD8 defines phenotypically distinct cytotoxic T cells in cancer and multiple sclerosis.

Background: Cytotoxic T lymphocytes take on a leading role in many immune-related diseases. They function as key effector immune cells fighting cancer cells, but they are also considerably involved in autoimmune diseases. Common to both situations, CD8 T cells need to adapt their metabolism and effector function to the harsh and nutrient-deprived conditions of the disease-associated microenvironment.

Benzodiazepines in the Management of Seizures and Status Epilepticus: A Review of Routes of Delivery, Pharmacokinetics, Efficacy, and Tolerability.

Status epilepticus (SE) is an acute, life-threatening medical condition that requires immediate, effective therapy. Therefore, the acute care of prolonged seizures and SE is a constant challenge for healthcare professionals, in both the pre-hospital and the in-hospital settings. Benzodiazepines (BZDs) are the first-line treatment for SE worldwide due to their efficacy, tolerability, and rapid onset of action.

Hippocampal Cytokine Release in Experimental Epileptogenesis-A Longitudinal In Vivo Microdialysis Study.

Background: Inflammation, particularly cytokine release, contributes to epileptogenesis by influencing the cerebral tissue remodeling and neuronal excitability that occurs after a precipitating epileptogenic insult. While several cytokines have been explored in this process, release kinetics are less well investigated. Determining the time course of cytokine release in the epileptogenic zone is necessary for precisely timed preventive or therapeutic anti-inflammatory interventions.

Multicenter, cross-sectional study of the costs of illness and cost-driving factors in adult patients with epilepsy.

Objective: This study was undertaken to quantify epilepsy-related costs of illness (COI) in Germany and identify cost-driving factors.

Methods: COI were calculated among adults with epilepsy of different etiologies and severities. Multiple regression analysis was applied to determine any epilepsy-related and sociodemographic factors that serve as cost-driving factors.

G-protein-coupled receptor P2Y10 facilitates chemokine-induced CD4 T cell migration through autocrine/paracrine mediators.

G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), especially chemokine receptors, play a central role in the regulation of T cell migration. Various GPCRs are upregulated in activated CD4 T cells, including P2Y10, a putative lysophospholipid receptor that is officially still considered an orphan GPCR, i.e.

Executive deficits in neuropsychological testing differentiate between autoimmune temporal lobe epilepsy caused by limbic encephalitis and temporal lobe epilepsies with non-autoimmune etiologies.

Objective: Patients with temporal lobe epilepsy caused by autoimmune limbic encephalitis (AI-TLE) clinically resemble patients with temporal lobe epilepsy with non-autoimmune etiologies (NAI-TLE) but have a different prognosis and require specific adjusted therapies. The objective of this study was to investigate whether patients with these forms of TLE can be discerned by means of neuropsychological assessment.

Methods: Data from 103 patients with TLE (n = 39 with AI-TLE and n = 64 with NAI-TLE, including n = 39 with hippocampal sclerosis [HS] and n = 25 with low-grade epilepsy-associated tumors [LEAT]) and 25 healthy controls who underwent comprehensive neuropsychological assessments were analyzed retrospectively.

Patients' knowledge about epilepsy-related risks, morbidity, and mortality: A multicenter cohort study from Germany.

Introduction: Patient education is a central component of quality care. Enhancing patient knowledge can improve patients' quality of life and facilitate successful self-management. We sought to identify patients' knowledge levels and knowledge gaps regarding epilepsy-related risks, morbidity, and mortality.

SARS-CoV-2-related rapid reorganization of an epilepsy outpatient clinic from personal appointments to telemedicine services: A German single-center experience.

Introduction: When the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic reached Europe in 2020, a German governmental order forced clinics to immediately suspend elective care, causing a problem for patients with chronic illnesses such as epilepsy. Here, we report the experience of one clinic that converted its outpatient care from personal appointments to telemedicine services.

Methods: Documentations of telephone contacts and telemedicine consultations at the Epilepsy Center Frankfurt Rhine-Main were recorded in detail between March and May 2020 and analyzed for acceptance, feasibility, and satisfaction of the conversion from personal to telemedicine appointments from both patients' and medical professionals' perspectives.

[Epilepsy in old age].

In an aging society, epilepsy in old age will become a more and more relevant disease. The diagnosis is often difficult because of the frequent occurrence of focal seizures in old age, which are easily overlooked. The diagnosis is often delayed, particularly in older patients who, for example also suffer from dementia.