抗癫痫药物不良反应的针灸治疗

采用针灸方法治疗1例癫痫患者,选取可直接调心脑之气的心俞穴,起化痰作用的肝俞、肾俞穴,具有平衡阴阳之气的后藤艮山灸法(取穴:大椎、长强及其中点和中点左右各4cm处共5个穴位,均为非化脓灸),另外采用本神透阳白、阳白透本神的刺法,给上额以交叉刺激。经3个月治疗患者癫痫发作及药物副作用基本得到控制,疗效满意,但其治疗机制尚须深入探讨。     

Epilepsy after operative treatment of ruptured cerebral aneurysms

Summary A retrospective analysis of 183 consecutive patients operated on for ruptured cerebral aneurysms and surviving at least one year revealed appearance of postoperative epilepsy in 14 cases (8 per cent) on an average of 10 months (range 0–23 months) after the operation. Factors associated with the development of secondary epilepsy were localization of the aneurysm on the middle cerebral artery, temporary clipping intraoperatively, wrapping technique to treat the aneurysm, and vasospasm seen on the postoperative control angiogram. Intraoperative and/or postoperative ischaemia seems to be the crucial phenomenon favouring the development of epilepsy. Identification of the risk factors may help to focus the anti-epileptic prophylaxis in cases prone to develop seizures.     

Transient Facial Palsy in Sphenoidal Electrode Placement

Summary: Purpose: Sphenoidal electrode (SE) insertion can cause pain, for which local anesthesia with lidocaine or intravenous administration of fentanyl has been advocated by different epilepsy treatment centers. Transient facial palsies have been observed after SE insertion. Their frequency of occurrence, distribution, and duration have not been well characterized, however. We hypothesized that this complication is due to the effect of local anesthesia on the peripheral branches of the seventh cranial nerve. To test this hypothesis, we compared the incidence and characteristics of facial palsy during SE insertions performed with either local anesthesia or after intravenous fentanyl administration.
Methods: We performed a retrospective study in two patient groups. Group A consisted of 25 patients aged 28 ± 8·2 years who underwent a prolonged video-EEG (VEEG) monitoring study with SE after subcutaneous infusion of 1% lidocaine in the insertion area. Group B included 25 patients aged 30·1 ± 8·9 years whose SE were inserted after intravenous administration of 100-200 μ fentanyl. Blood pressure (BP) was monitored every 3-5 min throughout the procedure.
Results: Five patients (20%) from group A had a transient facial palsy; in 4, it was complete and in 1 it was partial; 1 patient had a bilateral facial palsy. Paresis lasted 1-7 min (mean 3·2 min). In all patients, the recovery was complete. None of the patients in group B had complications (p = 0·025, Fisher's exact test).
Conclusions: Transient facial palsy is a relatively frequent complication of SE insertion when SE are placed under local anesthesia; patients should be forewarned of its possible occurrence.     

Nonepileptic Posttraumatic Seizures

Summary: Purpose: Epileptic posttraumatic seizures (PTSs) are a well-recognized consequence of head injury (HI), but HI and nonepileptic seizures (NESs) have not been related. We describe a significant subset of patients with NESs who had their seizures attributed to HI.
Methods: We reviewed the records of all patients diagnosed with NES at the University of Maryland Medical Center over a 6-year period (1989–1995) and selected patients with seizures attributed to a head injury occurring ≥3 years before the onset of their seizures.
Results: Of 157 patients with video-EEG confirmed NES, 37 (24%) had the onset of their seizures attributed to an HI. Their average age was 34 years (range, 15–56 years); 68% were women. Nonepileptic PTS usually developed within the first year after HI (89%). Convulsive symptoms were present in 54%. Whereas epileptic PTSs characteristically follow severe HI, the majority (78%) of our patients with nonepileptic PTSs sustained only mild HI. Before their HI, 76% of our patients were employed, working in the home, or students, but only 11% could continue those activities after developing nonepileptic PTSs.
Conclusions: Nonepileptic PTSs are frequently mistaken for epileptic PTSs and result in serious disability. The misdiagnosis of nonepileptic PTSs leads to ineffective and inappropriate treatment. Patients with intractable seizures after HIS, articularly mild HIS, should be carefully evaluated for NESs.     

Endotracheal suctioning causes right upper lobe collapse in intubated children

Objective: Right upper lobe collapse is a common radiographic finding in intubated children. We hypothesized that deep suctioning and uncontrolled negative pressures during endotracheal tube suctioning were significant contributory factors. Methods : The incidence of right upper lobe (RUL) collapse in intubated, ventilated children on a paediatric cardiac intensive care unit was determined over a 3-month period ( n = 102). Graduated suction catheters and suction vacuums of < 165 cm H₂O were then introduced. Another prospective audit was carried out 3 months later ( n = 60). Results : We found that 24% developed RUL collapse and 4 developed an apical pneumothorax. Following the introduction of graduated catheters and controlled vacuums pressures, a significant reduction in the incidence of RUL collapse, to 7%, was observed ( p < 0.05). Conclusions : We conclude that high negative pressure and deep-suctioning causes RUL collapse in children. Any lobar collapse not only prolongs the child's stay in intensive care, but can be associated with further morbidity which may have a serious implication. By improving suctioning technique this morbidity can be significantly reduced.     

Stereotactically-guided craniotomy for cavernous angiomas presenting with epilepsy

Summary With the wider availability of magnetic resonance imaging cavernous malformations are being recognised with increasing frequency in those patients presenting with intractable epilepsy. Surgical resection is the treatment of choice. However, because these lesions are usually small and may be located in eloquent areas stereotactic resection should be considered. Stereotactically-guided resection of pathologically verified cavernous angiograms was performed in 10 patients in this series presenting with epilepsy (8 males, 2 females, mean age 32 years). Eight patients presented with medically intractable epilepsy (5 complex partial seizures, 3 grand mal seizures). Of the remaining patients one experienced multiple episodes of haemorrhage and the other headaches (with a non-diagnostic scan) both in association with epilepsy. Pre-operative localisation of the motor strip was determined in one case by functional MRI. Following resection of these lesions all patients experienced improved seizure control with a mean follow-up period of 22 months. The mean postoperative hospital stay was 5.1 days with no surgical complications recorded. We conclude that stereotactically-guided resection offers significant advantages in the management of cavernous malformations.Surgical indications for operative resection would include medically refractory epilepsy, repeated haemorrhage and those cases where there is diagnostic uncertainty.     

Neuropsychological correlates of intractable anxiety disorder before and after capsulotomy

A comprehensive neuropsychological test battery was administered to 10 consecutive patients undergoing neurosurgical intervention, capsulotomy, as a last resort treatment for chronic, incapacitating, and otherwise intractable illness, either obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD; n= 5) or non-OCD anxiety disorder (n= 5). The aim was to study the neuropsychology of severe anxiety disorders before and after a defined neurosurgical intersection of connections between the frontal lobes and related brain regions. Although extremely disabled by their illness before surgery, the patients performed within the normal range on most tests. After capsulotomy, there was significant improvement on measures of clinical morbidity and of psychosocial functioning, and the general neuropsychological performance remained remarkably intact. In a subgroup of 5 patients, however, perseverative responses were more common postoperatively, possibly indicating dysfunction of systems involving the frontal lobes. Although admittedly sparse, these data can be interpreted as suggesting that in vulnerable individuals, capsulotomy may give rise to increased perseverative behaviour in the laboratory, and possibly in the real world as well. This risk must be weighed against the potential clinical benefit of capsulotomy in this extremely disabled, sometimes suicidal patient population.     

Surgical Treatment of an Early Epileptic Encephalopathy with Suppression-Bursts and Focal Cortical Dysplasia

Summary: A case of early epileptic encephalopathy (EIEE) with suppression-bursts or Ohtahara's syndrome, associated with focal cortical dysplasia is reported. Infantile spasms and brief tonic unilateral seizures began on the fifth day of life. Interictal EEG demonstrated an asymmetrical "suppression-burst" pattern with no wake or sleep cycling. Seizures were refractory to all antiepileptic drug (AED) and steroid therapy. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed right frontotemporal cortical thickening. After three weeks of an ineffective medical treatment a preoperative evaluation with single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and electrocorticography (ECoG) was performed to characterize epileptogenic focus. Surgical resection of the precentral area was performed at age 1 month. Neuropathologic examinations confirmed diagnosis of focal cortical dysplasia by identifying cytoarchitectural disarray and ectopic neurons located deep in subcortical white matter. During follow-up, 1-year postoperative the child had a single febrile seizure. Neurologic examination showed minor developmental delay and slight left-sided weak ness.     

Grooves in the superior surface of the liver

A group of cadaveric livers bearing anteroposterior grooves or furrows in the superior surface of the right lobe is described. Such grooves have been noted by others in living patients. The existence of these grooves has been recognized since at least 1888, but there seems to be no agreement as to their cause. It appears from this study that different types of groove or indentation occur, according to their orientation relative to the median plane of the body. Two major groups of theories of causation are recognized, but no firm conclusions are drawn. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

戊四氮诱发大鼠全身强直-阵挛性癫痫发作诱导丘脑c-fos癌基因表达

首次运用Fos癌蛋白抗体免疫组化法详细研究了戊四氮诱发大鼠全身强直-阵挛性癫痫发作诱导丘脑c-fos癌基因表达的动态分布。主要结果是:腹腔内注入戊四氮诱导大鼠癫痫发作后0.5h,丘脑室旁核出现低密度的Fos-免疫阳性(Fos-ir)细胞核标记;3h时,中等密度的Fos-ir标记扩布至大部分丘脑中线和板内核群及网状核;6h时,所有上述丘脑核群的Fos-ir标记普遍增为中等至高密度。结合文献报道,上述结果提示:丘脑室旁核很可能是戊四氮诱发大鼠全身强直-阵挛性癫痫发作的重要起源部位之一;丘脑中线和板内核群及网状核很可能在此种癫痫发作的病理生理机制中起重要作用。