Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate efficacy and tolerability of levetiracetam (LEV) in patients with different epilepsy syndromes.
Methods: We evaluated epileptic patients seen in the previous 18 months, including all patients with present or past exposure to LEV. Tolerability of LEV therapy was evaluated in all patients; efficacy was evaluated only in patients who had received LEV for at least six months. Two hundred and two patients were included in the study. Patients were considered responsive when showing a > 50% reduction in seizures frequency and non-responders when seizure frequency was unchanged, worsened or showed a reduction < 50%.
Results: Thirty patients did not complete six months of LEV treatment and dropped out. 57.4% of the patients with uncontrolled seizures treated for at least six months were responders, with 27.7% seizure free. Adverse effects were observed in 46 patients (23%) and were responsible for early drop out in 26. Adverse effects occurred significantly more often in females than in males (30.6% vs 13.2%); moreover, nearly 30% of women with adverse effects complained of more than one adverse effect, while this was never observed in male patients.
Conclusions: Our study shows LEV as a well tolerated and effective treatment, both in monotherapy and as an add-on. Further investigations on larges samples are needed to investigate the issue of gender-related tolerability.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0317167100010283 | DOI Listing |
Neurosurgery
February 2025
Global Neurosciences Institute, Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , USA.
Background And Objectives: Despite growing interest in how patient frailty affects outcomes (eg, in neuro-oncology), its role after transsphenoidal surgery for Cushing disease (CD) remains unclear. We evaluated the effect of frailty on CD outcomes using the Registry of Adenomas of the Pituitary and Related Disorders (RAPID) data set from a collaboration of US academic pituitary centers.
Methods: Data on consecutive surgically treated patients with CD (2011-2023) were compiled using the 11-factor modified frailty index.
Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci
January 2025
Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Departamento de Química Biológica Ranwel Caputto. Córdoba, Argentina.
Purpose: Stress granules (SGs) are cytoplasmic biocondensates formed in response to various cellular stressors, contributing to cell survival. Although implicated in diverse pathologies, their role in retinal degeneration (RD) remains unclear. We aimed to investigate SG formation in the retina and its induction by excessive LED light in an RD model.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJAMA Netw Open
January 2025
Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Republic of Korea.
Importance: Lung cancer in individuals who have never smoked (INS) is a growing global concern, with a rapidly increasing incidence and proportion among all lung cancer cases. Particularly in East Asia, opportunistic lung cancer screening (LCS) programs targeting INS have gained popularity. However, the sex-specific outcomes and drawbacks of screening INS remain unexplored, with data predominantly focused on women.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAm J Cardiovasc Drugs
January 2025
Department of Pharmacy, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Background: Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have demonstrated promising effects in lowering cardiovascular incidents among patients with acute coronary syndrome. However, their influence on early platelet reactivity after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) remains unclear.
Objectives: This research sought to investigate the effects of entirely human anti-PCSK9 antibodies on platelet function as measured by thrombelastography and 12-month postoperative results in patients receiving PPCI and treated with ticagrelor-based dual antiplatelet therapy.
Curr Top Behav Neurosci
January 2025
Department of Neurobiology, University of Maryland, School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
In the last two decades, the endocannabinoid system has emerged as a crucial modulator of motivation and emotional processing. Due to its widespread neuroanatomical distribution and characteristic retrograde signaling nature, cannabinoid type I receptors and their endogenous ligands finely orchestrate somatic and axon terminal activity of dopamine neurons. Owing to these unique features, this signaling system is a promising pharmacological target to ameliorate dopamine-mediated drug-seeking behaviors while circumventing the adverse side effects of, for instance, dopaminergic antagonists.
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