Publications by authors named "Min-Lan Tsai"

Background: The decision to treat children with benign epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BECTS) using antiseizure medications (ASM) is controversial. Our goal is to compare the effect of ASM treatment on the alteration of electroencephalographic (EEG) functional connectivity and power across four frequency bands in children with BECTS.

Methods: Children with BECTS with two-year follow-up were retrospectively divided into ASM versus non-ASM groups.

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Infant-type hemispheric glioma (IHG) is a rare pediatric brain tumor with variable response to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Molecular insights into IHG can be useful in identifying potentially active targeted therapy. A male fetus was found to have congenital hydrocephalus at the gestational age of 37 weeks.

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  • Primary central nervous system germ cell tumors (CNS GCTs) happen in both kids and adults, often appearing in early life and during teenage years.
  • There are different types of these tumors, like germinomas and nongerminomatous GCTs, which can develop in areas like the brain's pineal region and cause issues like hydrocephalus (fluid buildup).
  • Treatment usually involves a mix of surgery, chemotherapy, and sometimes radiation, depending on the tumor type and its location.
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  • A study was conducted on twelve Asian patients with various types of sarcoma who received interval-compressed chemotherapy, alternating between two specific drug regimens (VDC and IE), with support from filgrastim and carboplatin for certain cases.
  • The treatment included a total of 129 cycles, with a median interval of 19 days between cycles, and showed that patients had manageable side effects, like neutropenia and low platelet counts, with a notable percentage experiencing fever.
  • Out of the nine patients with measurable tumors, seven showed a positive response to the treatment, indicating that this chemotherapy approach is feasible for Asian children and young adults with sarcoma.
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  • Cysteinyl leukotriene receptor antagonists (LTRAs) like montelukast and zafirlukast are FDA-approved to treat children's asthma and allergic conditions, but their link to Tourette syndrome (TS) in kids is explored in this study.
  • The research analyzed medical records of nearly 27,000 children under 18 who were treated for allergic diseases and asthma between 2005 and 2018, comparing those on LTRAs with those not on the medication.
  • Findings revealed that children using LTRAs had a significantly higher risk of developing TS compared to non-users, highlighting the need for further study on the neuropsychiatric impacts of these drugs.
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Medulloblastoma (MB) was classified into four molecular subgroups: WNT, SHH, group 3, and group 4. In 2017, 12 subtypes within 4 subgroups and 8 subtypes within non-WNT/non-SHH subgroups according to the differences of clinical features and biology were announced. In this study, we aimed to identify the heterogeneity of molecular features for discovering subtype specific factors linked to diagnosis and prognosis.

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There is an increasing number of reported cases with neurological manifestations of COVID-19 in children. Symptoms include headache, general malaise, ageusia, seizure and alterations in consciousness. The differential diagnosis includes several potentially lethal conditions including encephalopathy, encephalitis, intracranial hemorrhage, thrombosis and adrenal crisis.

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Alterations in dynamic brain network function are increasingly recognized in epilepsy. Benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BECTS), or benign rolandic seizures, is the most common idiopathic focal epilepsy in children. In this study, we analyzed EEG functional connectivity (FC) among children with rolandic spikes with or without clinical seizures as compared to controls, to investigate the relationship between FC and clinical parameters in children with rolandic spikes.

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  • Atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor (AT/RT) is a rare and aggressive brain cancer primarily affecting young children, with a higher incidence in males and those under 36 months old.
  • * A study in Taiwan identified 47 cases of AT/RT between 1999 and 2014, showing that treatment type and age at diagnosis significantly impacted survival rates.
  • * The findings indicate that patients older than 3 years, those with supratentorial tumors, and those receiving combined treatment had notably improved survival outcomes.
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Background: A giant hypothalamic hamartoma (GHH) is a rare congenital malformation only reported in a few cases in the literature and is often associated with precocious puberty, gelastic seizures, or less commonly, Pallister-Hall syndrome. Persistent syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SIADH) is very rare in infancy, and most patients with GHH do not develop persistent SIADH, usually only transient electrolyte disturbances postoperatively. Previous cases of GHH have not been associated with persistent derangements in antidiuretic hormone levels.

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Objectives: Whether febrile seizures (FS) produce long-term injury to the hippocampus or other brain structures is a critical question concerning focal onset seizures in children. Our aims are to evaluate the effect of FS on subfields of the hippocampus, thalamic nuclei, amygdala, cortical thickness, and surface area quantitatively in children with FS who later developed focal seizures and to identify biomarkers based on MRI structures.

Methods: Children who had focal onset seizures with or without previous FS and normal 3-T MRI findings were included retrospectively.

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Background: Epileptic surgery is the potentially curative treatment for children with refractory seizures. The study aimed to quantify and analyze high frequency oscillation (HFO) ripples and interictal epileptiform discharges (EDs) in intraoperative electrocorticography (ECoG) between malformation of cortical dysplasia (MCD) and non-MCD children with MRI-lesional focal epilepsy, and evaluate of seizure outcomes after epileptic surgery.

Methods: The intraoperative ECoG was performed before and after lesionectomy.

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  • * The study explored the relationship between protein synthesis, proteasome degradation, and tumor cell response to bortezomib (BTZ), a proteasome inhibitor used in other cancers, using patient-derived xenograft models.
  • * Results indicated that BTZ effectively reduced tumor growth and increased survival rates in Myc-ATRT models by promoting apoptosis and activating the p53 pathway, showing potential as a targeted therapy for this aggressive tumor type.
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In 2016, a project was initiated in Taiwan to adopt molecular diagnosis of childhood medulloblastoma (MB). In this study, we aimed to identify a molecular-clinical correlation and somatic mutation for exploring risk-adapted treatment, drug targets, and potential genetic predisposition. In total, 52 frozen tumor tissues of childhood MBs were collected.

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Background/purpose: To assess the long-term neurodevelopmental outcome of normal-term neonates who were accidentally found to exhibit subependymal pseudocysts (SEPCs), frontal horn cysts, or choroid plexus cysts through cranial ultrasound (CUS) examination in a neonatal health examination.

Methods: In total, 5569 neonates received CUS examination as an item in a health examination during the first week of birth between 2002 and 2012. Among them, 5147 infants fulfilled the inclusion criteria.

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Objectives: Brain tumors are found in 1-3% of children with newly onset of seizures. Understanding the impact of seizures on pediatric brain tumors and factors between seizures and brain tumors are crucial. This study aimed to evaluate the association of pediatric brain tumors on seizure occurrence and the relationships between seizures and the diagnosis and prognosis of brain tumors.

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Infants with an immobile arm may be easily overlooked in primary care settings. Differential diagnoses include injuries, infections, neuropathies, ischemia and rarely, neoplasms. We report the case of a one-year-old boy with weakness in his left arm after minor trauma with a diagnosis of brachial plexus palsy initially.

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It has been shown that the blood-brain barrier (BBB) can be locally disrupted by focused ultrasound (FUS) in the presence of microbubbles (MB) while sustaining little damage to the brain tissue. Thus, the safety issue associated with FUS-induced BBB disruption (BBBD) needs to be investigated for future clinical applications. This study demonstrated the neuroprotective effects induced by low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) against brain injury in the sonicated brain.

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The ability to monitor the responses of and inhibit the growth of brain tumors during gene therapy has been severely limited due to the blood-brain barrier (BBB). A previous study has demonstrated the feasibility of noninvasive in vivo imaging with 123I-2'-fluoro-2'-deoxy-5-iodo-1-β-D-arabinofuranosyluracil (123I-FIAU) for monitoring herpes simplex virus type 1 thymidine kinase (HSV1-tk) cancer gene expression in an experimental animal model. Here, we tested the enhancement of SPECT with 123I-FIAU and ganciclovir (GCV) treatment in brain tumors after BBB disruption induced by focused ultrasound (FUS) in the presence of microbubbles.

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Objectives: Whether prolonged or complex febrile seizures (FS) produce long-term injury to the hippocampus is a critical question concerning the neurocognitive outcome of these seizures. Long-term event-related evoked potential (ERP) recording from the scalp is a noninvasive technique reflecting the sensory and cognitive processes associated with attention tasks. This study aimed to investigate the long-term outcome of neurocognitive and attention functions and evaluated auditory event-related potentials in children who have experienced complex FS in comparison with other types of FS.

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Background/purpose: Event-related potentials (ERPs) reflect higher cortical function and the P3 (P300) wave has been associated with various sensory, cognitive, and attention processes. The aims of this study were to understand the age-related change in ERPs in children between the ages of 6 and 13 years and to establish a normal reference value for Taiwanese children for use in future study of neurocognitive dysfunction in children.

Methods: Using an auditory oddball paradigm, ERPs were recorded in 63 mentally and physically normal children ages 6 to 13 years.

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In a previous study, we reported a rat model of early-life limbic seizures which resulted in a loss of GABA(B) receptor inhibition in the hippocampus. Since gating of auditory evoked potentials in the hippocampus (auditory gating) requires GABA(B) receptors and spatial behaviors depend on the hippocampus, we hypothesize that rats with early-life limbic seizures manifest deficits of auditory gating and spatial behaviors. Seizure rats were given a single injection of GABA(B) receptor antagonist CGP56999A (1-1.

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Background: Recording of event-related potentials (ERPs) from the scalp is a noninvasive technique reflecting the sensory and cognitive processes associated with attention tasks. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a disorder involving deficits in attention and behavioral control. The aim of this study was to investigate the difference in ERPs between normal children and those with ADHD.

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Consequences of seizures in the developing brain are not completely understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the long-term alterations of synaptic transmission and seizure susceptibility in the hippocampus after early-life seizures induced by systemic injection of a GABA(B)-receptor antagonist CGP56999A in immature rats. Experimental rats were injected with CGP56999A 1-1.

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Purpose: Whether febrile seizures have detrimental consequences on the brain is still controversial. We hypothesized that neuronal inhibition in the hippocampus is altered after hyperthermia-induced seizures in immature rats.

Methods: Rats were given a single seizure by a heat lamp on postnatal day (PND) 15, or repeated seizures by heated air on PND 13 to 15.

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