Treatments for Convulsive and Nonconvulsive Status Epilepticus in Adults: An Expert Opinion Survey in South Korea.

Background And Purpose: The aim of this study was to survey the expert opinions on treatments for convulsive status epilepticus (CSE) and nonconvulsive status epilepticus (NCSE) in adults.

Methods: Forty-two South Korean epileptologists participated in this survey. They completed an online questionnaire regarding various patient scenarios and evaluated the appropriateness of medications used to treat CSE and NCSE.

Antiepileptic Drug Therapy for Status Epilepticus.

Status epilepticus (SE) is one of the most serious neurologic emergencies. SE is a condition that encompasses a broad range of semiologic subtypes and heterogeneous etiologies. The treatment of SE primarily involves the management of the underlying etiology and the use of antiepileptic drug therapy to rapidly terminate seizure activities.

Gender differences in factors associated with resilience for health-related quality of life in persons with epilepsy.

Purpose: We determined whether resilience factors such as self-efficacy, stress coping styles, and social support were differentially associated with health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in men and women with epilepsy after controlling for depression, anxiety, and daily-life stress.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 129 adults with epilepsy. The Quality of Life in Epilepsy Inventory-31 (QOLIE-31), Epilepsy Self-Efficacy Scale, Way of Stress Coping Checklist, Social Support Scale, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory, and Daily Hassles Scale were used.

Pharmacological Treatment of Epilepsy in Elderly Patients.

The incidence and prevalence of epilepsy are highest in elderly people, and the etiologies of epilepsy in the elderly differ from those in other age groups. Moreover, diagnosing and treating epilepsy in elderly people may be challenging due to differences in clinical characteristics and physiological changes associated with aging. This review focuses on the pharmacological treatment of epilepsy in elderly patients.

Antiepileptic Drug Selection According to Seizure Type in Adult Patients with Epilepsy.

Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder that is mainly treated using antiepileptic drugs. Several antiepileptic drugs such as phenobarbital, phenytoin, primidone, and ethosuximide were developed in the early 20th century. More than 10 types of antiepileptic drugs have been developed since the 1990s, and there are now more than 20 antiepileptic drugs in active clinical use.

Clinical Approach to Autoimmune Epilepsy.

Autoimmune epilepsy is a newly emerging area of epilepsy. The concept of "autoimmune" as an etiology has recently been revisited thanks to advances in autoimmune encephalitis and precision medicine with immunotherapies. Autoimmune epilepsy presents with specific clinical manifestations, and various diagnostic approaches including cerebrospinal fluid analysis, neuroimaging, and autoantibody tests are essential for its differential diagnosis.

Refining General Principles of Antiepileptic Drug Treatments for Epilepsy.

Antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) are the primary treatment strategy for epilepsy. As the use of AEDs has become more widespread and diverse over the past century, it has become necessary to refine the associated prescription strategies. This prompted the Drug Committee of the Korean Epilepsy Society to perform a systemic review of both international and domestic guidelines as well as literature related to medical treatment of epilepsy, and prepared a series of reviews to provide practical guidelines for clinicians to follow.

Treatment of epilepsy in adults: Expert opinion in South Korea.

Objective: The aim of this study was to gather the expert opinions of Korean epileptologists regarding the treatment of adult patients with epilepsy.

Methods: A total of 42 neurologists who specialized in epilepsy were surveyed. They completed an online questionnaire describing multiple patient scenarios.

Factors contributing to excessive daytime sleepiness in Korean adults with epilepsy: A sleep questionnaire-based study.

Objectives: We determined factors contributing to excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) in Korean adults with epilepsy (AWE).

Methods: A total of 147 AWE who had been treated for >1 year were included. Daytime sleepiness was assessed using the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS).

Medial temporal lobe epilepsy associated with hippocampal sclerosis is a distinctive syndrome.

Epileptic syndromes are distinctive disorders with specific features, which when taken together, permit a specific diagnosis. There is actually a debate on that medial temporal lobe epilepsy with hippocampal sclerosis is an epileptic syndrome. To address this issue, we searched for discriminative semiological features between temporal lobe epilepsy patients with hippocampal sclerosis (TLE-HS patients or group 1), TLE patients with medial structural lesion other than hippocampal sclerosis or in MRI-negative cases with medial onset on further investigations (group 2) and lateral TLE patients (LTLE or group 3).

Sleep hygiene and its association with mood and quality of life in people with epilepsy.

Objectives: We determined whether sleep hygiene is directly related to mood and quality of life (QoL) in people with epilepsy and, if not, documented the indirect effects of sleep hygiene through sleep quality.

Methods: Data were collected from 150 adults with epilepsy. The Sleep Hygiene Index (SHI), Quality of Life in Epilepsy-10 (QOLIE-10), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Sleep Problems Index-2 (SPI-2) of the Medical Outcomes Study-Sleep Scale, and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) were used.

Factors contributing to driving by people with uncontrolled seizures.

People with epilepsy (PWE) are restricted from driving because of the concern over seizure-related car accidents. We investigated the characteristics of driving in these people and aimed to identify factors associated with driving in those with uncontrolled seizures. Of 290 epilepsy patients, 58% had a driver's license, 40% had driven during the last year.

Factors contributing to concerns of persons living with epilepsy.

Purpose: To describe the concerns of Korean adults living with epilepsy and to compare the concerns of individuals with controlled and uncontrolled seizures.

Methods: Outpatients filled out questionnaires, including the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Quality of Life in Epilepsy-10 questionnaire, the stigma scale, and a questionnaire on episodes of discrimination. Patients were asked to fill out the Epilepsy Foundation of America (EFA) Concerns Index and to list their concerns on a blank sheet of paper.

Factors contributing to depression in patients with epilepsy.

We investigated factors contributing to depression in patients with epilepsy. Data were collected from 150 adult patients. Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory, Daily Hassles Scale, Epilepsy Self-Efficacy Scale, Social Support Scale, Stress Coping Style Checklist, and Quality of Life in Epilepsy Inventory 31 (QOLIE-31) were used.

Relationship between hypometabolic patterns and ictal scalp EEG patterns in patients with unilateral hippocampal sclerosis: An FDG-PET study.

This study was to explore the relationship between scalp ictal EEG patterns and interictal hypometabolic patterns in hippocampal sclerosis-associated mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (HS-MTLE) and determine the clinical significance of interictal hypometabolic patterns. Twenty-five patients were classified into 2 groups based on initial ictal discharge (IID) frequency on scalp EEG: (a) those with a sustained regular 5- to 9-Hz rhythm with a restricted temporal or subtemporal distribution (group 1, N=9); and (b) those with an irregular 2- to 5-Hz rhythm with a widespread distribution (group 2, N=16). Using statistical parametric mapping, the PET results of each group were compared with age- and sex-matched controls to identify regions of significant hypometabolism, and the clinical characteristics were compared.

The lateralizing value of IQ in mesiotemporal epilepsy: differences between patients with unitemporal and bitemporal epileptiform discharges.

Purpose: We investigated the lateralizing ability of intelligence scores in mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) patients according to the distribution of interictal epileptiform discharges (IEDs).

Methods: This study enrolled 82 MTLE patients. All patients had preoperative neuropsychological evaluations, including Korean Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale.

Recurrent Cerebral Venous Thrombosis Associated with Elevated Factor VIII.

Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) rarely recurs, and the factors associated with a recurrence remain unclear. Recently, however, elevated plasma coagulation factor VIII has been considered a factor related to recurrent venous thromboembolism. Here we report a patient who had recurrent CVT associated with significantly elevated levels of factor VIII despite the chronic use of an antiplatelet agent.

Two novel mutations of the NOTCH3 gene in Korean patients with CADASIL.

Mutations in the NOTCH3 gene (NOTCH3) are responsible for cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL), an adult-onset hereditary angiopathy leading to ischemic episodes, vascular dementia and other neurologic deficits. All mutations of NOTCH3 described so far are strictly stereotyped, leading to the gain or loss of a cysteine residue in a given epidermal growth factor (EGF)-like repeat of NOTCH3. We report two novel mutations of NOTCH3, R587C and C988Y, each resulting in an odd number of cysteine residues in an EGF-like repeat of NOTCH3.

Perceived self-control of seizures in patients with uncontrolled partial epilepsy.

Many patients with epilepsy have warning symptoms prior to seizure onset, and some of these individuals report the ability to abort or prevent these seizures. We investigated the clinical characteristics of perceived self-control of seizures in 174 patients with uncontrolled partial epilepsy. The warning symptoms were categorized as premonitory (prodrome) and as initial symptoms of simple partial seizure onset, depending on the relationship between the warning events and the ensuing seizures.