European journal of paediatric neurology : EJPN : official journal of the European Paediatric Neurology Society
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Eur. J. Paediatr. Neurol. · Jul 2008
Multicenter Study Clinical TrialAdd-on levetiracetam in children and adolescents with refractory epilepsy: results of an open-label multi-centre study.
To study the efficacy and tolerability of add-on levetiracetam in children and adolescents with refractory epilepsy. ⋯ Levetiracetam proved to be an effective and well-tolerated add-on treatment in this group of children with refractory epilepsy.
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Eur. J. Paediatr. Neurol. · Jul 2008
Increased total-Tau levels in cerebrospinal fluid of pediatric hydrocephalus and brain tumor patients.
Total Tau (t-Tau), hyperphosphorylated Tau (p-Tau(181P)) and beta-amyloid(1-42) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) have shown to be markers of neuronal and axonal degeneration in various neurological and neurodegenerative diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of the presence of a brain tumor and hydrocephalus on t-Tau, p-Tau(181P) and beta-amyloid(1-42) levels in CSF of pediatric patients. t-Tau, p-Tau(181P) and beta-amyloid(1-42) levels were simultaneously quantified by xMAP technology in 22 lumbar and 15 ventricular CSF samples from newly diagnosed pediatric brain tumor patients and 39 lumbar and 12 ventricular CSF samples from pediatric patients without a brain tumor. t-Tau, p-Tau(181P) and beta-amyloid(1-42) levels in both lumbar and ventricular CSF were not significantly correlated with age. t-Tau levels in lumbar CSF were elevated in brain tumor patients, being especially high in medulloblastoma patients. Lumbar CSF p-Tau(181P) levels were lower in brain tumor patients compared to normal controls. ⋯ Two patients with an infected ventriculo-peritoneal drain also had high CSF t-Tau levels. In conclusion, high t-Tau levels in CSF are found in pediatric patients with a brain tumor, patients with hydrocephalus and patients with a serious CNS infection, reflecting neuronal and axonal damage. Ongoing studies should determine whether these neurodegenerative markers in CSF can be used to monitor neuronal and axonal degeneration in these patients during therapy and long-term follow up.