Comparative efficacy of prolonged-release melatonin versus clonazepam for isolated rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder.

Purpose: Clonazepam and melatonin are recommended as first-line treatments for isolated rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (iRBD). This study aimed to compare their efficacy and safety in REM sleep without atonia (RWA) and RBD-related symptoms.

Methods: This prospective, open-label, randomized trial included patients with video-polysomnography-confirmed iRBD.

Survey on Antiepileptic Drug Therapy in Patients with Drug Resistant Epilepsy.

Background And Purpose: Individualized anti-epileptic drug (AED) selection in patient with epilepsy is crucial. However, there is no unified opinion in treating patients with drug resistant epilepsy (DRE). This survey aimed to make a consolidate consensus with epileptologists' perspectives of the treatment for Korean DRE patients by survey responses.

Correlation between craniofacial changes and respiratory improvement after nasomaxillary skeletal expansion in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea patients.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between the changes in respiratory function and dimensions of the nasomaxillary complex (NMC) and upper airway (UA) compartments after nasomaxillary skeletal expansion (NMSE) treatment for pediatric patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

Methods: Nonobese OSA patients (mean age, 13.6 ± 2.

Respiratory and sleep characteristics based on frequency distribution of craniofacial skeletal patterns in Korean adult patients with obstructive sleep apnea.

Objective: To investigate the frequency distribution of various craniofacial skeletal patterns in a large Korean adult obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) population, and to find a relationship between craniofacial risks and respiratory and sleep characteristics.

Methods: A total of 1226 OSA patients (mean age of 44.9±13.

Factors associated with stigma and depressive symptoms in family members of patients with epilepsy.

Purpose: Literature regarding family stigma related to epilepsy is scarce. This study investigated the prevalence of family stigma and depressive symptoms and the associated factors among the family members of patients with epilepsy.

Methods: In a cross-sectional study, Stigma Scale-Revised score ≥ 4 and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 score ≥ 10 were considered indicative of moderate-to-severe stigma and depressive symptoms, respectively.

Does the new Korean term for epilepsy reduce the stigma for Korean adults with epilepsy?

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate differences in stigma, disclosure management of epilepsy, and knowledge about epilepsy between patients with epilepsy who recognized and did not recognize the new Korean term for epilepsy.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional, multicenter study. The Stigma Scale-Revised, the Disclosure Management Scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, and a questionnaire assessing knowledge about epilepsy were used.

Comparison of cardiac autonomic activity between positional and nonpositional obstructive sleep apnea using heart rate variability.

Objectives: Patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) experience sympathetic hyperactivation during sleep, which is associated with increased cardiovascular risk factors. However, the difference in cardiac autonomic activity in OSA patients according to position dependency has not been evaluated. This study aimed to evaluate the differences between positional OSA (pOSA) and nonpositional OSA (npOSA) using heart rate variability (HRV) analysis.

Factors associated with social anxiety in South Korean adults with epilepsy.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine social anxiety in South Korean adults with epilepsy and to identify associated factors.

Method: This was a cross-sectional, multicenter study in South Korea. Social anxiety was assessed using short forms of the Social Phobia Scale (SPS-6) and Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS-6).

Sleep hygiene-related conditions in patients with mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea.

Objective: Sleep hygiene-related conditions are factors that affect the symptoms experienced by patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). However, very few studies have investigated the association between sleep hygiene and sleep symptoms, especially in patients with mild or moderate OSA. This study evaluated the relationship between factors related to sleep hygiene and clinical symptoms in patients with mild to moderate OSA.

Somatosensory reflex epilepsy: simultaneous video-EEG monitoring and surface EMG.

Somatosensory reflex epilepsy is induced by repetitive cutaneous contact of a circumscribed body area with a tight time-lock between somatosensory stimulation and seizure. We describe the case of a 27-year-old man with seizures induced by repetitive tapping on the sole of the right foot. Simultaneous video-EEG monitoring and surface electromyography was performed during a seizure triggered by repetitive tapping on the right sole aspect using a hammer.

Intractable Epilepsy with Solitary Cerebral Calcification.

Cerebral calcification is a common incidental finding upon brain imaging and its epileptogenicity is often underestimated. Here, we report a case of intractable epilepsy arising in conjunction with a solitary cerebral calcification. A 42-year-old male with intractable epilepsy was admitted to the epilepsy clinic for invasive epilepsy surgery.

Diagonal Earlobe Crease is a Visible Sign for Cerebral Small Vessel Disease and Amyloid-β.

We investigated the frequency and clinical significance of diagonal earlobe crease (DELC) in cognitively impaired patients using imaging biomarkers, such as white matter hyperintensities (WMH) on MRI and amyloid-β (Aβ) PET. A total of 471 cognitively impaired patients and 243 cognitively normal (CN) individuals were included in this study. Compared with CN individuals, cognitively impaired patients had a greater frequency of DELC (OR 1.

Prevalence of Self-Perceived Snoring and Apnea and Their Association with Daytime Sleepiness in Korean High School Students.

Background And Purpose: There has been no nationwide population-based study of the prevalence of self-perceived snoring/apnea in Korean adolescents. The purpose of this study was to estimate prevalence of self-perceived snoring/apnea in Korean high-school students and to evaluate their association with daytime sleepiness.

Methods: An online survey was used to investigate 12,672 students at 75 high schools across the 15 nationwide districts of South Korea.

Intracranial Cortical Calcifications in a Focal Epilepsy Patient with Pseudohypoparathyroidism.

Patients with chronic parathyroid dysfunction often have intracranial calcification in deep gray matter (GM) and subcortical white matter (WM) of their brain. Some of them are also epilepsy patients. Although cortical etiologies are main cause of epileptic seizure, cortical calcification has not been reported in these patients.

The Difference in Heart Rate Change between Temporal and Frontal Lobe Seizures during Peri-ictal Period.

Background And Purpose: Heart rate (HR) change is easily seen in seizures. Tachycardia is frequently seen in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), rather than extra temporal lobe epilepsy (XTLE). We report the difference in the HR pattern between TLE and frontal lobe epilepsy (FLE) during peri-ictal period.

Non-ketotic hyperglycaemia presenting as epilepsia partialis continua.

Epilepsia partialis continua is a rare epileptic syndrome observed in patients with brain structural lesions and metabolic disorders. We report a patient with non-ketotic hyperglycaemia presenting as epilepsia partialis continua with reversible focal brain lesions. An 83-year-old woman visited our hospital due to sudden and repetitive left facial twitching lasting for two days.

Can an exercise bicycle be safely used in the epilepsy monitoring unit?: An exercise method to provoke epileptic seizures and the related safety issues.

Background And Purpose: Long-term videoelectroencephalogram (video-EEG) monitoring is performed to diagnose an epileptic seizure and to investigate the differential diagnosis of paroxysmal events. To provoke an epileptic seizure, an exercise method is performed in some cases during long-term video-EEG recording in the epilepsy monitoring unit (EMU). The purpose of this study was two-fold: to assess the frequency and severity of adverse events associated with the use of an exercise bicycle and to find a way to safely use it in the EMU.

Unusual lesion in the bilateral external capsule following status epilepticus: a case report.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an essential tool for determining the underlying cause of status epilepticus and can exhibit a variety of unpredictable findings. A 28-year-old woman presented with status epilepticus of unknown etiology. She had been recovered from status epilepticus twenty days later, but afterwards developed transient postural instability and cognitive impairment.

Mirror focus in a patient with intractable occipital lobe epilepsy.

Mirror focus is one of the evidence of progression in epilepsy, and also has practical points for curative resective epilepsy surgery. The mirror foci are related to the kindling phenomena that occur through interhemispheric callosal or commissural connections. A mirror focus means the secondary epileptogenic foci develop in the contralateral hemispheric homotopic area.

Surgical treatment of mesial temporal lobe epilepsy in a patient with neurofibromatosis type 1.

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is the most common neurocutaneous disease. Main neurologic manifestations are represented by neoplasms such as optic gliomas, but epilepsy can occur by CNS lesions in less than 10%. Our patient was diagnosed, based on café-au-lait spots and axillary freckles.