Publications by authors named "Nina Graves"
Objective: To report long-term efficacy and safety results of the SANTE trial investigating deep brain stimulation of the anterior nucleus of the thalamus (ANT) for treatment of localization-related epilepsy.
Methods: This long-term follow-up is a continuation of a previously reported trial of 5- vs 0-V ANT stimulation. Long-term follow-up began 13 months after device implantation with stimulation parameters adjusted at the investigators' discretion.
Purpose: We report a multicenter, double-blind, randomized trial of bilateral stimulation of the anterior nuclei of the thalamus for localization-related epilepsy.
Methods: Participants were adults with medically refractory partial seizures, including secondarily generalized seizures. Half received stimulation and half no stimulation during a 3-month blinded phase; then all received unblinded stimulation.
The American Epilepsy Society and the Epilepsy Foundation jointly convened a task force to assess the state of knowledge about sudden unexplained death in epilepsy (SUDEP). The task force had five charges: (1) develop a position statement describing if, when, what, and how SUDEP should be discussed with patients and their families and caregivers; (2) design methods by which the medical and lay communities become aware of the risk of SUDEP; (3) recommend research directions in SUDEP; (4) explore steps that organizations can take to perform large-scale, prospective studies of SUDEP to identify risk factors; and (5) identify possible preventive strategies for SUDEP. Some of the major task force recommendations include convening a multidisciplinary workshop to refine current lines of investigation and to identify additional areas of research for mechanisms underlying SUDEP; performing a survey of patients and their families and caregivers to identify effective means of education that will enhance participation in SUDEP research; conducting a campaign aimed at patients, families, caregivers, coroners, and medical examiners that emphasizes the need for complete autopsy examinations for patients with suspected SUDEP; and securing infrastructure grants to fund a consortium of centers that will conduct prospective clinical and basic research studies to identify preventable risk factors and mechanisms underlying SUDEP.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVPA daily dose and total VPA concentrations for 146 elderly (> or =65 years) nursing home residents collected from June 1998 to December 2000 in homes located throughout the United States are presented. Average age was 78.5+/-8.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Phenytoin (PHT) dosing regimens are often determined based on experience in those aged <65 years rather than in those aged >or=65 years.
Objective: The goal of this study was to determine the impact of sex, age, receipt of concomitant inhibitors or inducers of PHT metabolism, and albumin levels on doses and total serum concentrations of PHT in elderly nursing home residents.
Methods: Consulting pharmacists to nursing homes located throughout the United States collected data from June 1998 to December 2000.
Purpose: Animal studies and sporadic case reports in human subjects have suggested that intermittent electrical stimulation of the anterior nucleus of the thalamus reduces seizure activity. We embarked on an open-label pilot study to determine initial safety and tolerability of bilateral stimulation of the anterior nucleus of the thalamus (ANT), to determine a range of appropriate stimulation parameters, and to begin to gather pilot efficacy data.
Methods: We report an open-label pilot study of intermittent electrical stimulation of the anterior nucleus of the thalamus in five patients (three men, two women; age range, 24-47 years), with follow-up between 6 and 36 months.