Management of epilepsia partialis continua: A systematic review.

Purpose: Epilepsia partialis continua (EPC) is form of focal motor status epilepticus, with limited guidelines regarding effective pharmacological management. This systematic review aimed to describe previously utilized pharmacological management strategies for EPC, with a focus on patient outcomes.

Methods: A systematic review of the databases PubMed, EMBASE, and SCOPUS was performed from inception to May 2024.

Investigating the frequency of neural autoantibodies in refractory focal epilepsy.

Objectives: There have been conflicting reports about the frequency of neural autoantibodies in epilepsy cohorts, which is confounded by the lack of clear distinction of epilepsy from acute symptomatic seizures due to encephalitis. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of neural autoantibodies in a well characterised population of refractory focal epilepsy of known and unknown cause.

Methods: Cases were recruited from epilepsy outpatient clinics at the Princess Alexandra, Mater, Royal Brisbane and Women's and Cairns Base Hospitals from 2021 - 2023.

Long-Term Intake of Red Meat in Relation to Dementia Risk and Cognitive Function in US Adults.

Background And Objectives: Previous studies have shown inconsistent associations between red meat intake and cognitive health. Our objective was to examine the association between red meat intake and multiple cognitive outcomes.

Methods: In this prospective cohort study, we included participants free of dementia at baseline from 2 nationwide cohort studies in the United States: the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (HPFS).

Child Neurology: Severe -Related Congenital Muscular Dystrophy With Rapidly Progressive Encephalopathy Leading to Infantile Death.

Pathogenic variants in cause congenital muscular dystrophy through hypoglycosylation of alpha-dystroglycan (OMIM #615350). The established phenotypic spectrum of GMPPB-related disorders includes recurrent rhabdomyolysis, limb-girdle muscular dystrophy, neuromuscular transmission abnormalities, and congenital muscular dystrophy with variable brain and eye anomalies. We report a 9-month-old male infant with congenital muscular dystrophy, infantile spasms, and compound heterozygous pathogenic variants (c.

Sex Differences in Natural History and Health Outcomes Among Individuals With Tic Disorders.

Objectives: To analyze sex differences in outcomes in Tourette syndrome (TS) and Persistent Motor or Vocal tic disorders (PMVT) in the Tourette Association of America International Consortium for Genetics (TAAICG) dataset.

Methods: The relationship between sex and clinical measures was explored in 2,403 participants (N = 2,109 with TS; N = 294 with PMVT) from the TAAICG dataset using generalized estimating equation regression models, and adjusted for age and family relationships.

Results: Female (vs male) participants with TS (25.

Intraoperative Facet Joint Block Reduces Pain After Oblique Lumbar Interbody Fusion: A Double-Blinded, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial.

Background: Oblique lumbar interbody fusion (OLIF) results in less tissue damage than in other surgeries, but immediate postoperative pain occurs. Notably, facet joint widening occurs in the vertebral body after OLIF. We hypothesized that the application of a facet joint block to the area of widening would relieve facet joint pain.

Feature selectivity of corticocortical feedback along the primate dorsal visual pathway.

Anatomical studies have revealed a prominent role for feedback projections in the primate visual cortex. Theoretical models suggest that these projections support important brain functions, like attention, prediction, and learning. However, these models make different predictions about the relationship between feedback connectivity and neuronal stimulus selectivity.

Prior knowledge changes initial sensory processing in the human spinal cord.

Prior knowledge changes how the brain processes sensory input. Whether knowledge influences initial sensory processing upstream of the brain, in the spinal cord, is unknown. Studying electric potentials recorded invasively and noninvasively from the human spinal cord at millisecond resolution, we find that the cord generates electric potentials at 600 hertz that are modulated by prior knowledge about the time of sensory input, as early as 13 to 16 milliseconds after stimulation.

Inhaled xenon modulates microglia and ameliorates disease in mouse models of amyloidosis and tauopathy.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most prevalent neurodegenerative disorder. Antiamyloid antibody treatments modestly slow disease progression in mild dementia due to AD. Emerging evidence shows that homeostatic dysregulation of the brain immune system, especially that orchestrated by microglia, plays an important role in disease onset and progression.

Gene therapy ameliorates bowel dysmotility and enteric neuron degeneration and extends survival in lysosomal storage disorder mouse models.

Children with neurodegenerative disease often have debilitating gastrointestinal symptoms. We hypothesized that this may be due at least in part to underappreciated degeneration of neurons in the enteric nervous system (ENS), the master regulator of bowel function. To test this hypothesis, we evaluated mouse models of neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis type 1 and 2 (CLN1 and CLN2 disease, respectively), neurodegenerative lysosomal storage disorders caused by deficiencies in palmitoyl protein thioesterase-1 and tripeptidyl peptidase-1, respectively.

The impact of reduced skeletal muscle mass at stroke onset on 3-month functional outcomes in acute ischemic stroke patients.

Introduction: Sarcopenia, characterized by reduced skeletal muscle mass (RMM), is increasingly recognized as a significant factor influencing outcomes in various health conditions, including stroke. Although most studies focus on sarcopenia developing during stroke rehabilitation, the impact of sarcopenia present at the onset of acute ischemic stroke remains underexplored. This study aims to evaluate the effect of RMM at stroke onset on 3-month functional outcomes in acute ischemic stroke patients.

Disease-State Dependent Associations Between Intrinsic Brain Function and Symptoms of Fatigue, Depression, and Anxiety in Crohn's Disease.

Background: Extraintestinal symptoms (EIS) in inflammatory bowel diseases, including fatigue, depression and anxiety, are highly prevalent, but poorly understood. Alterations of brain function may contribute to EIS, but their association with disease activity is unclear. This study analyzed intrinsic neural activity (INA) of individuals with Crohn's disease (CD) in different disease states and examined the relationship between INA and EIS.

Effects of Tesamorelin on Neurocognitive Impairment in Abdominally Obese Persons with HIV.

Background: In people with HIV (PWH) who are virally suppressed (VS) on antiretroviral therapy (ART), abdominal obesity (AO) is linked to neurocognitive impairment (NCI), potentially due to visceral adiposity, inflammation, and reduced insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1). Tesamorelin, a growth hormone-releasing hormone, reduces AO and increases IGF-1, suggesting it might mitigate NCI in VS PWH.

Methods: This 6-month, Phase II randomized, open-label clinical trial compared Tesamorelin versus standard-of-care (SOC) for NCI in abdominally obese PWH.

Continuous Instrument Tracking in a Cerebral Corticectomy Ex Vivo Calf Brain Simulation Model: Face and Content Validation.

Background And Objectives: Subpial corticectomy involving complete lesion resection while preserving pial membranes and avoiding injury to adjacent normal tissues is an essential bimanual task necessary for neurosurgical trainees to master. We sought to develop an ex vivo calf brain corticectomy simulation model with continuous assessment of surgical instrument movement during the simulation. A case series study of skilled participants was performed to assess face and content validity to gain insights into the utility of this training platform, along with determining if skilled and less skilled participants had statistical differences in validity assessment.

Postextubation Dysphagia Among Patients With COVID-19: Results of Instrumental Swallow Studies and Clinical Swallow Evaluations.

Purpose: Research has shown that prolonged endotracheal intubation can increase risk of aspiration following extubation. This study examined the relationship between swallowing and intubation among patients with COVID-19. We investigated the association between the duration of intubation and time until an oral diet was safely initiated and the correlation between the length of intubation and reduced sensation with aspiration as seen on flexible endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES)/videofluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS).

Cerebrovascular Compliance during Progressive Hypotension in Patients with Autonomic Failure.

The compliant nature of cerebral blood vessels may represent an important mechanical protection for sustained cerebral perfusion during reductions in arterial blood pressure (ABP). However, whether the rise in cerebrovascular compliance (Ci) with falling ABP persists and exhibits a threshold effect remains unknown. Therefore, we analyzed Ci changes during graded head-up tilt (HUT) in individuals with autonomic failure (AF), a group that tolerates graded and progressive reductions in ABP.

Clinical and radiological characteristics of calcified cerebral embolism: a large case series including 242 calcified cerebral embolism.

Introduction: Radiological calcified cerebral embolism (CCE) characteristics have been reported in small case series. Our aim was to describe clinical and radiological CCE characteristics in a large number of CCE and to compare characteristics between different patient groups.

Methods: Characteristics of 79 stroke patients with CCE were analyzed retrospectively.