Immediate postoperative course in the pediatric intensive care unit following epilepsy surgery.

Purpose: To describe the immediate postoperative PICU course and short-term outcomes of children undergoing various epilepsy surgeries.

Methods: Single-center, retrospective observational study. All patients younger than 20 years of age who had been admitted to the PICU between 2018 and 2022 following epilepsy surgery were eligible for study entry.

Hippocampal resection during hemispherotomy: is it needed?

Purpose: Hemispherotomy is an effective surgery for intractable pediatric hemispheric epilepsy. Over the years, the surgical goal has shifted from a complete hemispheric resection (anatomical hemispherectomy) to a disconnective hemispherotomy (DH). Multiple techniques for DH have been described, and often, anterior temporal lobectomy (ATL, with hippocampal resection) is performed.

Epilepsy surgery during infancy: The earlier the better.

This commentary is on the original article by Wu et al. on pages 1215–1225 of this issue.

The Pediatric Epilepsy Surgery Interest Group (PESIG) under the auspice of the ISPN Research Committee: Availability of relevant technology and geographical distribution.

Purpose: Epilepsy surgery for pediatric drug-resistant epilepsy has been shown to improve seizure control, enhance patient and family QoL, and reduce mortality. However, diagnostic tools and surgical capacity are less accessible worldwide. The International Society Pediatric Neurosurgery (ISPN) has established a Pediatric Epilepsy Surgery Interest Group (PESIG), aiming to enhance global collaboration in research and educational aspects.

[EPILEPSY SURGERY IN CHILDREN: A SUMMARY OF A DECADE AT THE SOURASKY TEL AVIV MEDICAL CENTER].

Introduction: Drug-resistant epilepsy in children is associated with morbidity, developmental regression and mortality. Over recent years, there is an increase in awareness regarding the role of surgery in the treatment of refractory epilepsy, both in the diagnostic phase and for treatment, reducing the number and magnitude of seizures. Technological advancements have enabled a minimalization of surgery, with reduction in surgical associated morbidity.

Epilepsy and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children and adolescents: An overview of etiology, prevalence, and treatment.

Epilepsy and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are closely connected and commonly seen in both children and adults. Each of the disorders has major psychosocial and quality of life (QOL) effects, and their co-occurrence makes coping even more challenging for both the patients and their families. Moreover, an adverse effect of some anti-seizure medications can potentially induce or exacerbate symptoms of ADHD on the one hand, while some ADHD medications may increase seizure risk on the other.

Disordered Eating Behaviors in Young Individuals With Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension.

Background: The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of disordered eating behaviors (DEBs) in young individuals with idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) and to identify predictors of DEBs in this population.

Methods: Individuals with IIH aged eight to 25 years and their matched controls responded to a self-rating survey comprised of the Eating Attitude Test-26 for assessing the presence of DEBs and the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale.

Results: Fifty-three subjects with IIH and 106 healthy controls were included.

Cardiometabolic outcomes in children and adolescents with West syndrome.

Background: West syndrome is a convulsive disorder of infancy with unique seizures and a characteristic background electroencephalograph pattern. Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) is effective in spasm cessation, yet metabolic consequences of this therapeutic agent in childhood have not been published.

Methods: In this observational study we explored the cardiometabolic outcomes of 117 children with West syndrome (78 ACTH-treated and 39 non-ACTH-treated) monitored at a single medical center from 1995 to 2019 (median follow-up 7.

Epilepsy surgery in infants up to 3 months of age: Safety, feasibility, and outcomes: A multicenter, multinational study.

Objective: Drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) during the first few months of life is challenging and necessitates aggressive treatment, including surgery. Because the most common causes of DRE in infancy are related to extensive developmental anomalies, surgery often entails extensive tissue resections or disconnection. The literature on "ultra-early" epilepsy surgery is sparse, with limited data concerning efficacy controlling the seizures, and safety.

Medical treatment of tuberous sclerosis-related epilepsy.

Epilepsy is one of the most frequent CNS manifestations of tuberous sclerosis, and for most patients, it is the major debilitating factor. In up to 70% of the cases, the epilepsy is refractory and usually associated with significant behavioral as well as developmental consequences. Therefore, controlling seizures is one of the biggest medical and surgical challenges.

Cannabidiol-enriched oil in children and adults with treatment-resistant epilepsy-does tolerance exist?

Aim: To evaluate the long-term effectiveness of cannabidiol (CBD)-enriched oil for the treatment of refractory epilepsy and to assess the development of tolerance to its anti-seizure effect.

Methods: A prospective study of 92 consecutive patients (age 1-37 years, mean-11.8 years) with treatment resistant epilepsy who were treated with cannabis oil extract (CBD/tetrahydrocannabinol [THC] ratio of 20:1).

Seizures following surgery for supratentorial extratemporal low-grade tumors in children: a multicenter retrospective study.

Objective: Resection of brain tumors may lead to new-onset seizures but may also reduce seizure rates in patients presenting with seizures. Seizures are seen at presentation in about 24% of patients with brain tumors. For lesional epilepsy in general, early resection is associated with improved seizure control.

Prediction of Drug-Resistant Epilepsy in Children With Cerebral Palsy.

Epilepsy is estimated to exist in approximately 40% of individuals with cerebral palsy; however, the specific features that make it drug resistant are not well defined. The main aim of this study was to determine the clinical risk factors that could predict drug-resistant epilepsy, in children with cerebral palsy. The study was performed via a retrospective chart review, analyzing clinical parameters of 118 children with cerebral palsy with either drug-resistant epilepsy or controlled epilepsy, between the years 2013 and 2018.

A Case of Methotrexate Neurotoxicity Presented as Status Epilepticus, Encephalopathy, and High Fever.

High-dose methotrexate is used to treat a range of adult and childhood cancers including osteosarcoma. Significant neurotoxicity is reported in 1% to 4.5% of patients treated with high-dose methotrexate and can present in a wide variety of symptoms.

mTOR Inhibitors as a New Therapeutic Strategy in Treatment Resistant Epilepsy in Hemimegalencephaly: A Case Report.

Hemimegalencephaly is a hamartomatous malformation of one hemisphere. Functional hemispherectomy, the definitive treatment, is associated with significant morbidity and mortality in early infancy. Dysregulation of the mTOR pathway can result in malformations of cortical development, and mTOR inhibitors can effectively reduce seizures in tuberous sclerosis complex.

Maternal Sleep Disordered Breathing and Neonatal Outcome.

Background: It has been suggested that sleep disordered breathing (SDB) during pregnancy may adversely influence maternal as well as fetal well being.

Objectives: To examine the effect of maternal SDB on neonatal neurological examination and perinatal complications.

Methods: Pregnant women of singleton uncomplicated pregnancies were prospectively recruited from a community and hospital low risk obstetric surveillance.

Benign childhood epilepsy with Centro-Temporal spikes (BCECTSs), electrical status epilepticus in sleep (ESES), and academic decline--how aggressive should we be?

Since many of the children with BCECTSs display electrical status epilepticus during sleep and many present with different comorbidities, mainly ADHD and behavioral disturbances, clinicians are often confronted with the dilemma of how aggressive they should be with their efforts of normalizing the EEG. We conducted a retrospective study by screening medical records of all consecutive patients with BCECTSs, spike-wave index (SWI) >30%, and ADHD/ADD that were evaluated in our pediatric epilepsy service and were followed up for at least two years. Patients with neurocognitive deterioration detected by formal testing were excluded.

The effect of maternal sleep-disordered breathing on the infant's neurodevelopment.

Objective: We sought to examine the effect of maternal sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) on infant general movements (GMs) and neurodevelopment.

Study Design: Pregnant women with uncomplicated full-term pregnancies and their offspring were prospectively recruited from a community and hospital low-risk obstetric surveillance. All participants completed a sleep questionnaire on second trimester and underwent ambulatory sleep evaluation (WatchPAT; Itamar Medical, Caesarea, Israel).

Pediatric temporal low-grade glial tumors: epilepsy outcome following resection in 48 children.

Purpose: This paper summarizes our experience with surgical treatment of pediatric low-grade glial temporal lobe tumors focusing on the long-term outcome of seizures and identifying factors associated with seizure control and failure.

Methods: We reviewed all medical records of pediatric patients that underwent temporal lobe surgery due to seizures at our institution between 1997 and 2009. Only patients with temporal lobe tumors were included in this series.