MEG in MRI-Negative Patients with Focal Epilepsy.

Objectives: To review the evidence on the clinical value of magnetic source imaging (MSI) in patients with refractory focal epilepsy without evidence for an epileptogenic lesion on magnetic resonance imaging ("MRI-negative" or "non-lesional MRI").

Methods: We conducted a systematic literature search on PUBMED, which was extended by researchrabbit.ai using predefined criteria to identify studies that applied MSI in MRI-negative patients with epilepsy.

Status epilepticus admissions during the COVID-19 pandemic in Salzburg-A population-based study.

Several emergencies were admitted less frequently to the hospital during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. To investigate whether this also occurred with status epilepticus (SE) we compared admissions due to first SE from March to April 2020 ("Time of COVID," TOC) with January to February 2020 ("pre-COVID," preCOV). We also compared admission numbers in TOC and preCOV with the respective 2-month periods in 2018 and 2019 in a retrospective cohort analysis.

New anti-seizure medication for elderly epilepsy patients - a critical narrative review.

: The number of elderly patients with epilepsy is growing in resource rich countries due to demographic changes and increased longevity. Management in these patients is challenging as underlying etiology, co-morbidities, polypharmacy, age-related pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic changes need to be considered.: Lacosamide, eslicarbazepine acetate, brivaracetam, and perampanel have been approved in the USA and Europe for monotherapy and/or adjunctive treatment of seizures in the last few years.

Presurgical Functional Cortical Mapping Using Electromagnetic Source Imaging.

Preoperative localization of functionally eloquent cortex (functional cortical mapping) is common clinical practice in order to avoid or reduce postoperative morbidity. This review aims at providing a general overview of magnetoencephalography (MEG) and high-density electroencephalography (hdEEG) based methods and their clinical role as compared to common alternatives for functional cortical mapping of (1) verbal language function, (2) sensorimotor cortex, (3) memory, (4) visual, and (5) auditory cortex. We highlight strengths, weaknesses and limitations of these functional cortical mapping modalities based on findings in the recent literature.

Epidemiology of status epilepticus in adults: A population-based study on incidence, causes, and outcomes.

Objective: In 2015, the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) proposed a new definition of status epilepticus (SE): 5 minutes of ongoing seizure activity to diagnose convulsive SE (CSE, ie, bilateral tonic-clonic SE) and 10 minutes for focal SE and absence SE, rather than the earlier criterion of 30 minutes. Based on semiology, several types of SE with prominent motor phenomena at any time (including CSE) were distinguished from those without (ie, nonconvulsive SE, NCSE). We present the first population-based incidence study applying the new 2015 ILAE definition and classification of SE and report the impact of the evolution of semiology and level of consciousness (LOC) on outcome.