Ossification of the Yellow Ligament Combined with Ossification of the Posterior Longitudinal Ligament at the Cervicothoracic Junction.

Background: Both ossification of the yellow ligament (OYL) and the ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament are relatively rare clinical entities. We report a extremely rare case of the spinal canal stenosis because of OYL, OPLL and listhesis at the cervicothoracic junction.

Case Description: A 69-year-old man had progressive pain over his bilateral axillar portion and right lower extremity for 1 year.

Utility of High-b-Value Diffusion-Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Evaluating Reversible Medial Longitudinal Fasciculus Syndrome Caused by Acute Brainstem Ischemia.

Background: Medial longitudinal fasciculus (MLF) syndrome refers to a gaze disorder characterized by impaired adduction on the ipsilateral side to the injured MLF, with dissociated nystagmus of the contralateral abducting eye. The most common cause of the MLF syndrome is ischemic stroke. However, acute ischemic change in the MLF may be undetectable even on diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI) partly because of its small size and specific brainstem location.

Dystonic posturing associated with putaminal hyperperfusion depicted on subtraction SPECT.

Purpose: Dystonic posturing (DP) is one of the most reliable lateralizing indicators for temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). We evaluated the ictal hyperperfusional areas in patients with DP by using ictal-interictal subtraction single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT).

Methods: Ninety-seven patients were treated surgically for intractable TLE, and 39 patients underwent ictal and interictal SPECT studies with the same isotope.

Multiple subpial transections in the treatment of pediatric epilepsy.

Object: The technique involved in multiple subpial transections (MSTs) allows the surgeon treating patients with epilepsy the capability to make disconnective lesions in epileptogenic regions of eloquent cortex. Although there have been increasing numbers of reports in adults of the efficacy and relative safety of this technique, there are relatively few such reports in children. The authors present their experience in 30 children who underwent MSTs during the surgical management of the seizure disorder.

Cortical dysplastic lesions in children with intractable epilepsy: role of complete resection.

Object: The authors conducted a study to determine seizure-related outcomes in a group of pediatric patients with pathologically proven focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) treated by focal cortical resections and multiple subpial transections (MSTs).

Methods: The authors performed a retrospective review of pediatric patients in whom surgery was conducted to treat medically refractory epilepsy secondary to cortical dysplasia between April 1989 and January 2001. Diagnostic studies included preoperative scalp electroencephalography (EEG), magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, positron emission tomography (PET), and magnetoencephalography (MEG).

The significance of ear plugging in localization-related epilepsy.

Purpose: The localizing value of ear plugging in the treatment of auditory onset partial seizures, to our knowledge, has not been previously described. We propose that ear plugging is a clinical response to a sensory seizure manifested as an auditory hallucination and a tool for identifying the seizure focus in the auditory cortex on the superior temporal gyrus.

Methods: We report on three children who had prior epilepsy surgery for recurrent symptomatic localization-related epilepsy and who, subsequent to their surgery, displayed stereotyped unilateral or bilateral ear plugging at the onset of partial seizures.

Characteristics of prolonged afterdischarges in children with malformations of cortical development.

We investigated aberrant cortical excitability in malformations of cortical development From subdural electrodes, we recorded afterdischarges lasting > or = 6 seconds in 12 of 13 patients with malformations of cortical development and 6 of 10 pediatric patients with nonmalformations of cortical development and reviewed amperage thresholds, distribution of afterdischarges, and motor responses. In patients with malformation of cortical development, motor response thresholds were high; afterdischarge and motor response thresholds, which essentially overlapped, inversely correlated with age (P < .01); afterdischarge thresholds declined with age; and 8 patients showed afterdischarges in remote sites.

Complications of invasive subdural grid monitoring in children with epilepsy.

Object: This study was performed to evaluate the complications of invasive subdural grid monitoring during epilepsy surgery in children.

Methods: The authors retrospectively reviewed the records of 35 consecutive children with intractable localization-related epilepsy who underwent invasive video electroencephalography (EEG) with subdural grid electrodes at The Hospital for Sick Children between 1996 and 2001. After subdural grid monitoring and identification of the epileptic regions, cortical excisions and/or multiple subpial transections (MSTs) were performed.

Characteristics of dipoles in clustered individual spikes and averaged spikes.

The aim of this study is to analyze the characteristics of dipoles in clustered individual spikes and averaged spikes, we compared electroencephalography (EEG) dipole localizations from patients with intractable extratemporal lobe epilepsy (IETLE) and from patients with benign epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BECTS). We studied 10 patients; five with IETLE who underwent epilepsy surgery after subdural EEG and five with BECTS. We recorded 19-channel digital scalp EEGs and used clustering analysis for individual spikes to characterize interictal spikes.

Complex central cortex in pediatric patients with malformations of cortical development.

We investigated whether malformations of cortical development yield a complex central cortex by studying nine children with malformations of cortical development and seven without malformations who underwent epilepsy surgery following extraoperative subdural somatosensory evoked potential and electrical stimulation to identify the sensorimotor cortex. We analyzed superficial structures of the central cortex, latency, amplitude, and location of N20 and P25. Sensorimotor responses in malformations of cortical development extended across the central sulcus in 1 to 4 of 3 to 12 electrodes (mean 32%) compared with 1 to 6 of 4 to 15 electrodes (mean 12%) in cases without malformations with a statistical significance (P < .

Sound motion evoked magnetic fields.

Objective: The aim of present study was to determine which brain regions are involved in the conscious perception of sound motion in humans.

Methods: Six kinds of sound stimuli were studied. Two static sound stimuli with durations of 100 or 1000 ms remained at a fixed position during the stimulation period.