Simultaneously recorded intracranial and scalp high frequency oscillations help identify patients with poor postsurgical seizure outcome

ObjectiveHigh frequency oscillations (HFO) between 80–500 Hz are markers of epileptic areas in intracranial and maybe also scalp EEG. We investigate simultaneous recordings of scalp and intracranial EEG and hypothesize that scalp HFOs provide important additional clinical information in the presurgical setting.MethodsSpikes and HFOs were visually identified in all intracranial scalp EEG channels. Analysis of correlation of event location between intracranial and scalp EEG as well as relationship between events and the SOZ and zone of surgical removal was performed.Results24 patients could be included, 23 showed spikes and 19 HFOs on scalp recordings. In 15/19 patients highest scalp HFO rate was located over the implantation side, with 13 patients having the highest scalp and intracranial HFO rate over the same region. 17 patients underwent surgery, 7 became seizure free. Patients with poor post-operative outcome showed significantly more regions with HFO than those with seizure free outcome.ConclusionsScalp HFOs are mostly located over the SOZ. Widespread scalp HFOs are indicative of a larger epileptic network and associated with poor postsurgical outcome.SignificanceAnalysis of scalp HFO add clinically important information about the extent of epileptic areas during presurgical simultaneous scalp and intracranial EEG recordings.     

持续静脉滴注安定治疗频繁发作的小儿癫痫

目的探讨持续静脉滴注安定法治疗频繁发作小儿癫痫的疗效.方法对28例频繁发作癫痫的患儿,采用安定持续静脉滴注,按发作情况调整滴注速度,比较治疗前后的发作频率;应用荧光偏振免疫法测定血安定浓度.结果持续静脉滴注安定治疗后每日发作次数较治疗前明显减少(P<0.01).血安定浓度的安全有效范围为574.50±291.57μg/ml.安定静脉滴注速度与血药浓度呈正相关(γ=0.941,P<0.01).结论持续静脉滴注安定是一种安全有效的控制小儿频繁发作癫痫的辅助治疗方法.     

Fertility in Persons with Epilepsy: 1935–1974

Data from the Rochester-Olmsted County Medical Records Linkage Project were utilized to assess fertility in persons with epilepsy. Population age-specific reproduction rates for Rochester residents for the years 1935-1974 were estimated using the number of live births from the Minnesota Department of Health Statistics and Vital Statistics of the U.S. for comparison with rates in affected persons. Overall, fertility rates were significantly reduced to 80% of expected for affected males and 85% for affected females. Individuals with partial seizures (simple and complex) were disadvantaged, whereas those with generalized onset were not. During the last 20 years of the study period, males were more disadvantaged than females. The male-female difference was greatest during the time of low population fertility (after 1965). Male deficits were more marked after diagnosis; female deficits were more marked before diagnosis. Differences in the proportion of ever-married person-years between the sexes only partially explain the observed differences.     

Glucocorticoids potentiate kainic acid-induced seizures and wet dog shakes

Glucocorticoid effects on kainic acid-induced motor seizures and wet dog shakes in rats were investigated by adrenalectomy and dexamethasone treatment. One-day adrenalectomy attenuated kainic acid-induced wet dog shakes and seizure activity. These effects were restored by dexamethasone. Administration of dexamethasone to non-adrenalectomized rats potentiated kainic acid-induced wet dog shakes and severity of seizure activity. These results suggest that glucocorticoids may play an important role in modulating the severity of kainic acid-induced seizures and wet dog shakes.     

L—NAME促进大鼠红藻氨酸诱导性发作

为证明癫痫发作早期一氧化氮（ＮＯ）抗发作效应，用ＮＯ合酶（ＮＯＳ）抑制剂Ｌ－硝基精氨酸甲酯（Ｌ－ＮＡＭＥ）对大鼠红藻氨酸（ＫＡ）诱导性发作进行干预，同时用分光光度法检测海马结构中ＮＯＳ活性的早期变化。发现ＫＡ发作１０ｍｉｎ、３０ｍｉｎ组海马结构中ＮＯＳ活性明显升高，而ＫＡ注射前３０ｍｉｎ给予Ｌ－ＮＡＭＥ可显著抑制ＮＯＳ活性的升高，这种抑制效应与大鼠ＫＡ发作中湿狗样摇动（ＷＤＳ）的提早出现和发生次数增多显著相关。结果提示在ＫＡ诱导大鼠发作早期内源性ＮＯ具有明显的抗发作效用。     

Comparison of anticonvulsant effects of valproic acid entrapped in positively and negatively charged liposomes in amygdaloid-kindled rats

Intraperitoneal injection of free valproic acid (VPA) suppressed amygdaloid-kindled seizure 1 h after injection in rats, but had no effect at 24 h. VPA entrapped in positively charged liposomes showed a prolonged anticonvulsant effect lasting for 2 days, while the effect evaluated at 1 h was not different from that with free VPA. VPA entrapped in negatively charged liposomes exerted a significantly stronger effect at 1 h than did free VPA, while it had no significant effect at 24 h. These results suggest that surface charges on liposomes play an important role in modifying the anticonvulsant effect of VPA.     

新生大鼠反复惊厥对NMDA受体表达的长期影响

目的：研究反复惊厥对大鼠脑内N-甲基-D-天门冬氨酸(NMDA)受体表达，以及成年期认知功能和惊厥阈的长期影响。方法：生后6d(用P6表示，下同)的Wistar大鼠随机分成两组，每组6只，惊厥组每日吸入三氟乙醚诱导惊厥发作1次，每次持续30min，连续6d；对照组同样操作但不吸入三氟乙醚。两组大鼠于P60-P65行Morris水迷宫实验，检测大鼠的学习记忆功能。于P75时给予大鼠腹腔注射戊四唑(PTZ)测定大鼠的惊厥阈。随即断头处死大鼠，分离大脑皮质和海马，匀浆提取细胞膜蛋白，应用免疫印记法测定NMDA受体亚基l(NRl)和NR2A-2D表达的变化。结果：从P6l至P65，两组大鼠寻找平台时间均逐渐缩短，惊厥组大鼠在P65的平均寻找平台时间较对照组显著延长。惊厥组大鼠注射PTZ后发生惊厥的潜伏期与对照组比较差异无显著性。在大脑皮层，惊厥组大鼠较对照组NRl和NR2B表达水平明显下调，在海马这两种亚基表达水平无明显改变，在大脑皮层和海马区，惊厥组较对照组NR2A表达水平明显下调，NR2C表达水平明显上调。两组在皮层和海马均无NR2D表达。结论；新生大鼠反复惊厥可导致远期认知障碍，同时伴有NMDA受体的数量和结构上的长期改变，NMDA受体表达的这种改变可能在发育期惊厥导致的脑长期认知功能损害中起重要作用。     

In vivo mapping of drug-induced seizures with voltage-sensitive dye

The voltage-sensitive dye diO-C2-5 was used to produce an in vivo map of the membrane potential in two types of seizures. Mild limbic seizures were induced in rats with kainic acid; clonic convulsive seizures were induced with bicuculline. Kainic acid animals showed various levels of neural depolarization during their seizures in limbic, thalamic, cortical, and brainstem sites. The bicuculline animals showed uniformly greater levels of neural depolarization during their seizures. The magnitude of these changes relative to controls varied across seizure models and reflected the different underlying neural mechanisms for each model. The ability of the technique to capture local electrical events provides a new tool in which to explore brain activity.     

Serotonin reduction in the mouse neostriatum during hyperthermia-induced convulsions studied by immunohistochemistry

Summary Changes occurring in serotonin neurons during hyperthermia-induced convulsions were examined by means of a modified immunohistochemical method. All mice (8–12 weeks of age) exposed to the temperature of 50°C had convulsions, showing a generalized tonic and/or clonic pattern. Immediately after the convulsions, the animals were perfused transcardially with a fixative. A significant reduction in serotonin immunoreactivity was observed in the neostratum (caudate-putamen complex) of the mice which had hyperthermia-induced seizures, while the serotonin immunoreactivity remained unchanged in the neocortex and paleostriatum. These results suggest that serotonin may be an important mediator in the mechanism of hyperthermia-induced convulsions or that the susceptibility of serotonin neurons to a convulsive state is greatest in the neostriatum.Supported in part by Grant No. 86-05 from the National Center for Nervous, Mental and Muscular Disorders (NCNMMD) of the Ministry of Health and Welfare and Grant No. 62770677 from the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, Japan     

Frontal lobe epilepsy presented as ictal aggression

Abstract Aggressive behaviour is rarely observed as an ictal semiology. Ictal aggression can occur in lesions of frontal and limbic structures. In limbic structure lesions, the main mechanism of aggressive behaviour is hyperactivity; whereas frontal lesions may cause aggressive behaviour with an indirect mechanism in which the suppression on limbic system is lost. Here we present a patient with ictal aggression. In this case a right frontoparietal epileptiform focus was detected during the postictal period. Magnetic resonance imaging showed cortical dysplasia on the right inferior frontal gyrus. The seizures disappeared completely after pharmacological treatment.