Lancet neurology
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Epileptic seizures are generally unpredictable and arise spontaneously. Patients often report non-specific triggers such as stress or sleep deprivation, but only rarely do seizures occur as a reflex event, in which they are objectively and consistently modulated, precipitated, or inhibited by external sensory stimuli or specific cognitive processes. The seizures triggered by such stimuli and processes in susceptible individuals can have different latencies. ⋯ The complexity of stimuli increases from simple sensory to complex cognitive-emotional with increasing age of onset. The topography of physiological networks involved follows the posterior-to-anterior trajectory of brain development, reflecting age-related changes in brain excitability. Reflex seizures and traits probably represent the extremes of a continuum, and understanding of their underlying mechanisms might help to elucidate the transition of normal physiological function to paroxysmal epileptic activity.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Prehospital treatment with levetiracetam plus clonazepam or placebo plus clonazepam in status epilepticus (SAMUKeppra): a randomised, double-blind, phase 3 trial.
Generalised convulsive status epilepticus (GCSE) should be treated quickly. Benzodiazepines are the only drug treatment available so far that is effective before admission to hospital. We assessed whether addition of the antiepileptic drug levetiracetam to the benzodiazepine clonazepam would improve prehospital treatment of GCSE. ⋯ UCB Pharma.
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The burden of comorbidity in people with epilepsy is high. Several diseases, including depression, anxiety, dementia, migraine, heart disease, peptic ulcers, and arthritis are up to eight times more common in people with epilepsy than in the general population. Several mechanisms explain how epilepsy and comorbidities are associated, including shared risk factors and bidirectional relations. ⋯ Preliminary evidence suggests that some conditions, such as depression and migraine, negatively affect seizure outcome and quality of life. Further investigation is needed to explore these relations and the effects of targeted interventions. Future advances in the investigation of the comorbidities of epilepsy will strengthen our understanding of epilepsy and could play an important part in stratification for genetic studies.
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Review
Understanding idiopathic intracranial hypertension: mechanisms, management, and future directions.
Idiopathic intracranial hypertension is a disorder characterised by raised intracranial pressure that predominantly affects young, obese women. Pathogenesis has not been fully elucidated, but several causal factors have been proposed. Symptoms can include headaches, visual loss, pulsatile tinnitus, and back and neck pain, but the clinical presentation is highly variable. ⋯ Investigators of the Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension Treatment Trial (IIHTT) reported beneficial effects of acetazolamide in patients with mild visual loss. Studies have also established weight loss as an effective disease-modifying treatment, and further clinical trials to investigate new treatments are underway. The incidence of idiopathic intracranial hypertension is expected to increase as rates of obesity increase; efforts to reduce diagnostic delays and identify new, effective approaches to treatment will be key to meeting the needs of a growing number of patients.
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Dementia is receiving increasing attention from governments and politicians. Epidemiological research based on western European populations done 20 years ago provided key initial evidence for dementia policy making, but these estimates are now out of date because of changes in life expectancy, living conditions, and health profiles. To assess whether dementia occurrence has changed during the past 20-30 years, investigators of five different studies done in western Europe (Sweden [Stockholm and Gothenburg], the Netherlands [Rotterdam], the UK [England], and Spain [Zaragoza]) have compared dementia occurrence using consistent research methods between two timepoints in well-defined geographical areas. ⋯ This evidence suggests that attention to optimum health early in life might benefit cognitive health late in life. Policy planning and future research should be balanced across primary (policies reducing risk and increasing cognitive reserve), secondary (early detection and screening), and tertiary (once dementia is present) prevention. Each has their place, but upstream primary prevention has the largest effect on reduction of later dementia occurrence and disability.