Adjunctive levetiracetam in the treatment of Chinese and Japanese adults with generalized tonic-clonic seizures: A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial.

Objective: To assess the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of adjunctive levetiracetam (LEV) in Chinese and Japanese adults with generalized tonic-clonic (GTC) seizures (N01159; NCT01228747).

Methods: This double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, multicenter phase III trial comprised: 4-week retrospective and 4-week prospective baseline, 12-week dose-adjustment, and 16-week evaluation periods. Chinese and Japanese patients ≥16 years old with idiopathic generalized, symptomatic generalized, or undetermined epilepsy with GTC seizures received a single-blind placebo during the prospective baseline, and then were randomized 1:1 to placebo or LEV 1,000 mg/day administered twice daily.

Expansions of intronic TTTCA and TTTTA repeats in benign adult familial myoclonic epilepsy.

Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder, and mutations in genes encoding ion channels or neurotransmitter receptors are frequent causes of monogenic forms of epilepsy. Here we show that abnormal expansions of TTTCA and TTTTA repeats in intron 4 of SAMD12 cause benign adult familial myoclonic epilepsy (BAFME). Single-molecule, real-time sequencing of BAC clones and nanopore sequencing of genomic DNA identified two repeat configurations in SAMD12.

Efficacy and tolerability of levetiracetam as adjunctive therapy in Japanese patients with uncontrolled partial-onset seizures.

Aims: The aim of this study was to confirm the efficacy and safety of adjunctive levetiracetam in adult Japanese patients with uncontrolled partial-onset seizures.

Methods: In a double-blind, placebo-controlled, confirmatory trial, eligible patients were randomized to receive levetiracetam 500, 1000, 2000, or 3000 mg/day or placebo for 16 weeks. The primary end-point was percentage reduction from baseline in seizure frequency/week over a 12-week evaluation period.

Altered activity of the primary visual area during gaze processing in individuals with high-functioning autistic spectrum disorder: a magnetoencephalography study.

Background: Individuals with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) demonstrate an impaired ability to infer the mental states of others from their gaze. Thus, investigating the relationship between ASD and eye gaze processing is crucial for understanding the neural basis of social impairments seen in individuals with ASD. In addition, characteristics of ASD are observed in more comprehensive visual perception tasks.

Neural activity in the posterior superior temporal region during eye contact perception correlates with autistic traits.

The present study investigated the relationship between neural activity associated with gaze processing and autistic traits in typically developed subjects using magnetoencephalography. Autistic traits in 24 typically developed college students with normal intelligence were assessed using the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ). The Minimum Current Estimates method was applied to estimate the cortical sources of magnetic responses to gaze stimuli.

[Social resources for a patient with epilepsy].

Epilepsy is a common episodic neurological disorder and is often accompanied by mental, psychiatric, and physical disorders; therefore, a comprehensive treatment, including seizure control, is needed to treat it. Epilepsy patients need frequent seizure preventive treatment, which is likely to induce medication dependence. This paper presents a report on the social resources involved in epilepsy treatment.

[Titration comparative study of TOPINA Tablets in patients with localization related epilepsy: double-blind comparative study by rapid and slow titration methods].

To compare the tolerability and efficacy of two titration methods (rapid and slow titration) for TOPINA Tablets with different dosages and periods of escalation, a double-blind comparative study was conducted in patients with localization-related epilepsy. A total of 183 patients were randomized to either rapid titration (initial dosage 100 mg/day increased by 100-200 mg at weekly intervals) or to slow titration (initial dosage 50 mg/day increased in 50 mg/day increments at weekly intervals). TOPINA Tablets were administered for 12 weeks to the maximum dosage of 400 mg/day.

False lateralization of mesial temporal lobe epilepsy by noninvasive neurophysiological examinations.

Mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (mTLE) is the most common form of symptomatic localization-related epilepsy and is surgically remediable. Lateralization of the seizure onset is particularly important to determine from a surgical perspective. A 39-year-old woman with intractable mTLE first exhibited seizure at the age of 3 years.

Magnetoencephalography in patients with tuberous sclerosis and localization-related epilepsy.

Purpose: To clarify the usefulness of magnetoencephalography (MEG) for diagnosis of the spatial relations between spike foci and suspicious epileptogenic tubers on MRI in patients with tuberous sclerosis (TS) and to compare MEG spike foci with single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) findings.

Methods: We analyzed magnetic fields of epileptic spike discharges in 15 patients with TS and localization-related epilepsy (LRE) by using MEG (a whole-head 204-channel magnetometer system). We investigated the spatial relation between the equivalent current dipoles (ECDs) of interictal spike discharges and visible cortical tubers on MRI.

Single and multiple clusters of magnetoencephalographic dipoles in neocortical epilepsy: significance in characterizing the epileptogenic zone.

Purpose: To characterize the epileptogenic zone in neocortical epilepsy (NE) by using magnetoencephalography (MEG).

Methods: We defined and compared locations of single and multiple clusters of equivalent current dipoles (ECDs) for interictal spikes with MRI findings, ictal-onset zones (IOZs) from subdural electroencephalography (SDEEG), resected areas, and postsurgical outcomes of 20 patients who underwent cortical resection for medically intractable NE.

Results: Fourteen patients had single clusters; six had multiple clusters.

Multi-institutional study on the correlation between chromosomal abnormalities and epilepsy.

While there is an abundance of literature describing the association of chromosome aberrations with epilepsy, only a few refer to the detailed features of epilepsy. It is important to investigate the associations between specific chromosome abnormalities and features of epilepsy to identify genes involved in epilepsy and treat them more effectively. We investigated the correlation between specific chromosome aberrations and epilepsy by sending questionnaires to the members of Kyoto Multi-institutional Study Group of Pediatric Neurology.