Ketogenic diet therapy for epilepsy: Clinical pearls.

This manuscript provides practical insights, tips, and lessons particularly valuable for early-career healthcare professionals new to using ketogenic diet therapy (KDT) in clinical practice. The review aims to be accessible, emphasizing actionable knowledge that can be directly applied in a clinical setting. The KDT for epilepsy includes not only the classic KDT but also the modified Atkins diet, the medium-chain triglyceride ketogenic diet, and the low glycemic index treatment.

The long odyssey for the DEE-CDKL5 diagnosis: A call for action.

Objectives: This study aims to determine the current state of CDD diagnosis and epilepsy treatment in an upper-middle-income country.

Methods: Forty-seven families of the Brazilian CDD Association were invited to participate in an online survey to gather information about the diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy.

Results: Forty-three families (91.

Synthesis of Gelatin Methacryloyl Analogs and Their Use in the Fabrication of pH-Responsive Microspheres.

pH-responsive hydrogels have numerous applications in tissue engineering, drug delivery systems, and diagnostics. Gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) is a biocompatible, semi-synthetic polymer prepared from gelatin. When combined with aqueous solvents, GelMA forms hydrogels that have extensive applications in biomedical engineering.

EEG in focal and generalized epilepsies: Pearls and perils.

Correctly diagnosing and classifying seizures and epilepsies is vital to ensure a tailored approach to patients with epilepsy. The ILAE seizure classification consists of two main groups: focal and generalized. Establishing if a seizure is focal or generalized is essential to classify the epilepsy type and the epilepsy syndrome, providing more personalized treatment and counseling about prognosis.

How accurate is the human olfactory system in detecting peanuts?

This is the first study to quantify the accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of the human olfactory system in detecting peanuts in common food items. With more competing sensory input, the human olfactory sensitivity to peanuts decreases; this is especially evident when peanuts are mixed in sauces. Metrics established in this study can be used to develop standards for determining the clinical utility of allergen detecting devices that are currently under development.

Preclinical Testing Techniques: Paving the Way for New Oncology Screening Approaches.

Prior to clinical trials, preclinical testing of oncology drug candidates is performed by evaluating drug candidates with in vitro and in vivo platforms. For in vivo testing, animal models are used to evaluate the toxicity and efficacy of drug candidates. However, animal models often display poor translational results as many drugs that pass preclinical testing fail when tested with humans, with oncology drugs exhibiting especially poor acceptance rates.

A cognitive rehabilitation program to improve hot and cool executive dysfunction in juvenile myoclonic epilepsy: Preliminary findings.

Objective: Executive and attentional deficits are often described in Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy (JME). We aimed to evaluate the short-term impact of rehabilitation developed for the most frequent cognitive deficits of persons with JME.

Methods: Thirty-three patients entered this study which consisted of 12 individual sessions once a 60-minute week, divided into planning/organization, attention, and impulsivity.

Vascularization Strategies in 3D Cell Culture Models: From Scaffold-Free Models to 3D Bioprinting.

The discrepancies between the findings in preclinical studies, and in vivo testing and clinical trials have resulted in the gradual decline in drug approval rates over the past decades. Conventional in vitro drug screening platforms employ two-dimensional (2D) cell culture models, which demonstrate inaccurate drug responses by failing to capture the three-dimensional (3D) tissue microenvironment in vivo. Recent advancements in the field of tissue engineering have made possible the creation of 3D cell culture systems that can accurately recapitulate the cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix interactions, as well as replicate the intricate microarchitectures observed in native tissues.

Sleep quality and circadian rhythm profile of persons with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy in a tertiary epilepsy center: A case-control study.

Purpose: This study evaluated sleep quality, chronotype, and excessive diurnal somnolence in persons with Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy (JME) and their possible association with clinical variables.

Methods: This cross-sectional controlled study evaluated 49 consecutive patients (65% females, mean age 27.53 years) with an electroclinical diagnosis of JME and 49 healthy controls (55% females, mean age 28.

Physicians' beliefs about brain surgery for drug-resistant epilepsy: A global survey.

Purpose: To investigate the opinions of physicians about brain surgery for drug-resistant epilepsy worldwide.

Methods: Practicing neurologists, psychiatrists, and neurosurgeons from around the world were invited to participate in an online survey. The survey anonymously collected data about demographics, years in clinical practice, discipline, nation, work setting, and answers to the questions about beliefs and attitudes about brain surgery for drug-resistant epilepsy.

Factors associated with caregiver burden of adults with epilepsy in a middle-income country.

Purpose: Despite the relevance of socio-economic background in burden of caregivers of persons with epilepsy (PWE), there is a dearth of knowledge about this topic in low-resource settings. Here we attempt to identify the extent of the burden in caregivers of adults with epilepsy in a middle-income country and the factors associated with it.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we evaluated the level of burden with the Zarit Caregiver Burden Inventory.

Counseling about sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP): A global survey of neurologists' opinions.

Objective: To investigate the opinions and attitudes of neurologists on the counseling about sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) worldwide.

Methods: Practicing neurologists from around the world were invited to participate in an online survey. On February 18th, 2021, we emailed an invitation including a questionnaire (using Google-forms) to the lead neurologists from 50 countries.

Functional seizures are not less important than epilepsy.

Functional seizures (FS) are frequently encountered in neurology clinics, often affect young adults, and have significant negative impacts on many aspects of a person's life. In the current narrative review, we searched the literature regarding some of the consequences of FS (i.e.

Cochrane systematic review and meta-analysis of the impact of psychological treatment on health-related quality of life in people with epilepsy: an update by the ILAE Psychology Task Force, highlighting methodological changes.

Clinical interest in using psychological interventions for people with epilepsy (PWE) aiming at decreasing mental health difficulties, improving health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and seizure-related outcomes, continues to grow. This article summarizes the 2020 update of the 2017 Cochrane Review and meta-analysis of psychological interventions for PWE, highlighting the reasons for major methodological modifications such as the recategorization of interventions and expanded risk of bias assessment. A 2020 literature search yielded 36 RCTs (n=3526) investigating psychological treatments for PWE with a validated HRQOL measure as an outcome.

Patients with epilepsy during the COVID-19 pandemic: Depressive symptoms and their association with healthcare access.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak impacted the lives of worldwide people with epilepsy (PWE) in various aspects, particularly in those countries most significantly affected by this pandemic, such as Brazil. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of depressive symptoms in PWE and their correlation with epilepsy features and access to treatment.

Methods: PWE were invited to answer a cross-sectional online-based survey to assess and rate depressive symptoms using the NDDI-E during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic and its relation to multiple lifestyles epilepsy clinical aspects.

A novel scale for suspicion of psychogenic nonepileptic seizures: development and accuracy.

Objective: The differential diagnosis between epileptic and psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) is challenging, yet suspicion of PNES is crucial to rethink treatment strategies and select patients for diagnostic confirmation through video EEG (VEEG). We developed a novel scale to prospectively suspect PNES.

Methods: First, we developed a 51-item scale in two steps, based upon literature review and panel expert opinion.

Anxiety symptoms are the strongest predictor of quality of life in temporal lobe epilepsy.

Purpose: It is established that the severity of depressive and anxiety symptoms is associated with poorer quality of life (QOL) in persons with drug-resistant epilepsy. We aimed to verify the presence of subsyndromic depressive episodes (SDEs) and subsyndromic anxiety episodes (SAEs) in persons with temporal lobe epilepsy with hippocampal sclerosis (TLE-HS) compared to healthy controls and to determine the impact of depressive and anxiety symptoms on patients' QOL.

Methods: We prospectively evaluated 35 persons with TLE-HS and 90 healthy controls.

Social aspects of life in patients with functional seizures: Closing the gap in the biopsychosocial formulation.

The human, as a biological system, is an open system embedded within larger systems -including the family, culture, and socio-political environment. In this context, a patient with functional seizures (FS) is embedded in relationships, educational/professional institutions, culture, and society. Both connection to these broader systems and the quality of these connections, as well as the soundness of each system in and of itself, influence the health and well-being of patients in positive or negative ways.