A prospective long-term study on the outcome after vagus nerve stimulation at maximally tolerated current intensity in a cohort of children with refractory secondary generalized epilepsy.

Introduction: We report the outcome after vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) in children with secondary generalized epilepsy.

Methods: Twenty-four consecutive children with Lennox-Gastaut or Lennox-like syndrome under the age of 12 years by the time of surgery, who were implanted with a vagus nerve stimulator and had at least two years of postimplantation follow-up, were prospectively included in the study. The generator was turned on using 0.

Long-term outcome after callosotomy or vagus nerve stimulation in consecutive prospective cohorts of children with Lennox-Gastaut or Lennox-like syndrome and non-specific MRI findings.

Purpose: There is currently no resective (potentially curative) surgical option that is useful in patients with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. Palliative procedures such as callosotomy (Cx), vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) or deep brain stimulation have been offered. We compared the outcomes after Cx or VNS in two consecutive prospective cohorts of patients with generalised epilepsy.

Intraoperative neurophysiological responses in epileptic patients submitted to hippocampal and thalamic deep brain stimulation.

Purpose: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been used in an increasing frequency for treatment of refractory epilepsy. Acute deep brain macrostimulation intraoperative findings were sparsely published in the literature. We report on our intraoperative macrostimulation findings during thalamic and hippocampal DBS implantation.

Speech preservation using a non-linear paradigm for determination of the extent of neocortical resection in patients with mesial temporal sclerosis submitted to cortico-amygdalo-hippocampectomy (CAH).

Rationale: The rationale for using a non-linear (proportional) paradigm for determining the extent of the neocortex to be removed in temporal lobe resection was based on anatomical and intra-operative cortical mapping findings. We present our results regarding speech preservation in patients submitted to CAH using the central artery as an anatomical landmark for determining the posterior border of neocortical resection.

Methods: Two hundred and fifty consecutive right-handed patients with left unilateral mesial sclerosis were studied.

Vagus nerve stimulation might have a unique effect in reflex eating seizures.

We studied the effects of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) on eating seizures, which theoretically would be triggered by neural activity and signaling from organs innervated by the vagus nerve. Three adult patients with daily nonreflex and reflex eating seizures were studied; one patient also had hot-water seizures. One patient had bilateral polymicrogyria and two had normal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings.

Parkinsonism induced by VNS in a child with double-cortex syndrome.

We describe a child with epilepsy associated with double-cortex syndrome in whom vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) generated parkinsonian symptoms. A 13-year-old girl presented with refractory secondary generalized epilepsy from the age of 6 years and mental retardation. Her electroencephalography (EEG) showed diffuse polyspike and wave discharges.

Centro-median stimulation yields additional seizure frequency and attention improvement in patients previously submitted to callosotomy.

Rationale: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been increasingly used in the treatment of refractory epilepsy over the last decade. We report on the outcome after thalamic centro-median (CM) DBS in patients with generalized epilepsy who had been previously treated with extended callosal section.

Methods: Four consecutive patients with generalized epilepsy who were previously submitted to callosal section and had at least 1 year of follow-up after deep brain implantation were studied.

Outcome after extended callosal section in patients with primary idiopathic generalized epilepsy.

Purpose: We report the outcome of patients with refractory idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE) who were submitted to extended one-stage callosal section.

Methods: Eleven patients with IGE who were submitted to extended one-stage callosal section were studied. Preoperative workup included history and neurologic examination, interictal, and ictal electroencephalography (EEG) recording, high resolution 1.