Connectivity between perisylvian and bilateral basal temporal cortices.

Language processing requires the orchestrated action of different neuronal populations, and some studies suggest that the role of the basal temporal (BT) cortex in language processing is bilaterally distributed. Our aim was to demonstrate connectivity between perisylvian cortex and both BT areas. We recorded corticocortical evoked potentials (CCEPs) in 8 patients with subdural electrodes implanted for surgical evaluation of intractable epilepsy.

Transection of CA3 does not affect memory performance in rats.

Longitudinal hippocampal pathways are needed for seizure synchronization, and there is evidence that their transection may abolish seizures. However, the effect of such transection on memory is unknown. In this study, we investigated the effect of transverse CA3 transections on memory function in Sprague-Dawley rats.

Efficacy and safety of intravenous lacosamide in refractory nonconvulsive status epilepticus.

Background: Lacosamide (LCM) is a novel antiepileptic drug (AED) recently approved as an adjunctive therapy in the treatment of partial seizures in adults. LCM is available in oral and intravenous formulations, has linear pharmacokinetics and a unique mechanism of action.

The Aim Of This Study: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of intravenous LCM in the treatment of nonconvulsive status epilepticus (NCSE) after failure of conventional therapy.

Hemispherectomy-associated complications from the Kids' Inpatient Database.

Unlabelled: Carefully selected pediatric patients undergo hemispherectomy (HS) for treatment of refractory epilepsy. HS is associated with a mortality rate of 0-6.6% across studies, mostly due to acute hemorrhage.

Medically intractable seizures originating from the primary somatosensory hand area.

A 33-year-old woman had begun having intractable somatosensory seizures affecting the left hand since the age of 13 years. Occasionally, her seizures progressed to left arm posturing followed by secondary generalization. Scalp EEG revealed interictal epileptiform discharges in the right posterior quadrant, but with no ictal EEG correlates.

Analysis of dynamics and propagation of parietal cingulate seizures with secondary mesial temporal involvement.

Cingulate-onset seizures, particularly those originating from parietal cingulate regions, are inadequately described and confounded by patterns of propagation. We analyzed scalp and depth electrode recordings in a patient whose seizures originated from a lesion in the right posterior cingulate region and produced secondary seizure activity in ipsilateral mesial temporal structures. Analyses included the matching pursuit (MP) method of time-frequency decomposition and the Gabor atom density (GAD) measure of signal complexity.

Tolerability and efficacy of oral loading of levetiracetam.

Objective: Nonsedating antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) that can be initiated rapidly are desirable in a variety of clinical situations. Levetiracetam (LEV) is a newer AED, with a recently approved parenteral formulation, that can be initiated at doses effective in controlling seizures. We investigated whether oral loading of levetiracetam is well tolerated and facilitates stabilization and discharge of patients in epilepsy monitoring units (EMU).

In-hospital mortality of generalized convulsive status epilepticus: a large US sample.

Objective: To evaluate the in-hospital mortality associated with generalized convulsive status epilepticus (GCSE), and predictors of death in a large US cohort.

Methods: We identified our cohort from the National Inpatient Sample for the years 2000 through 2004 by searching the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, code for GCSE. We excluded patients with partial status epilepticus, and assessed whether associated diagnoses including brain tumors, CNS infections, stroke, hypoxic-ischemic brain injury, metabolic derangements, and respiratory failure predicted mortality.