Oxcarbazepine monotherapy in patients with brain tumor-related epilepsy: open-label pilot study for assessing the efficacy, tolerability and impact on quality of life.

We conducted a prospective, observational study to verify the efficacy, tolerability and impact on quality of life, mood and global neurocognitive performances of oxcarbazepine monotherapy in patients with brain tumor-related epilepsy (BTRE). Patients were followed for 12 months. We recruited 25 patients (11 females 14 males; mean age 49.7) affected with BTRE (17 de novo patients and 7 in monotherapy with other antiepileptics) and introduced oxcarbazepine monotherapy because of uncontrolled seizures and/or side effects. At first visit, patients underwent neurological examination, Qolie 31P V2, EORTC QLQC30, Zung self-depression rating scale (ZSDRS) and adverse events profile. A seizure diary was given to each patient. Follow-up duration was 1-12 months (mean 7.1 months, 5 patients died and 10 dropped out). Totals of 16 patients underwent both chemotherapy and radiotherapy, 4 chemotherapy only, 1 radiotherapy only, and 4 did not undergo any systemic therapy. Mean dosage of oxcarbazepine was 1,230 mg/day (min 600, max 2,100 mg/day). McNemar's test showed a significant difference in seizure freedom rate (P = 0.002) between baseline and final follow-up in the intent-to-treat population. Six patients (24%) had serious side effects and one patient (4%) mild. Logistic regression revealed that, in our study, chemotherapy and radiotherapy did not affect the efficacy of OXC in seizure outcome (P = 0.658). The test evaluation at final follow-up showed a significant improvement in ZSDRS (P = 0.011) and no change over time. Oxcarbazepine seems to be efficacious in controlling seizures and in improving mood in patients with BTRE, but special caution should be taken when it is administered during radiotherapy.

Lecture: profile of risks and benefits of new antiepileptic drugs in brain tumor-related epilepsy.

In patients with brain tumor, seizures are the onset symptom in 20-40% of the patients, while a further 20-45% of the patients will present them during the course of the disease. These data are important when considering the choice of antiepileptic drugs for this particular patient population, because brain tumor-related epilepsy (BTRE) is often drug resistant, has a strong impact on the quality of life and weighs heavily on public health expenditures. In brain tumor patients, the presence of epilepsy is considered as the most important risk factor for long-term disability. For this reason, the problem of the proper administration of medications and their potential side effects is of great importance, because good seizure control can significantly improve the patient's psychological and relational sphere. In these patients, new generation drugs such as gabapentin, lamotrigine, levetiracetam, oxcarbazepine, pregabalin, topiramate, and zonisamide are preferred, because they have fewer drug interactions and cause fewer side effects. Among the recently marketed drugs, lacosamide has demonstrated promising results and should be considered as a possible treatment option. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a customized treatment plan for each patient with BTRE, whose goals are complete seizure control, minimal or no side effects, and elimination of cognitive impairment and/or psychosocial problems.

Antiepileptics in brain metastases: safety, efficacy and impact on life expectancy.

The aim of the study was to evaluate efficacy, safety and impact on life expectancy of levetiracetam (LEV), oxcarbazepine (OXC) and topiramate (TPM) monotherapy in patients with seizures related to brain metastases. We conducted a prospective observational study on 70 patients with brain metastases. Thirteen patients were excluded because they were in prophylactic therapy with antiepileptics, nine patients did not return to our Center. A total of 48 patients with epilepsy related to brain metastases were enrolled. Patients were treated with LEV, OXC and TPM in monotherapy and followed until their death. Eighteen patients dropped out. Therefore, we followed 30 patients. Mean duration of follow-up was 6.1 months. Upon visiting the patients prior to their death (i.e. last visit preceding the death of the patients), we observed a significant reduction (P < 0.001) in the mean monthly seizure frequency; with 19 patients (63.3%) obtaining complete seizure control in the whole population. A significant improvement of seizure frequency was also observed considering each antiepileptic treatment group separately. Median survival time was similar among the three groups of patients and was similar to Class I of prognostic factors of Radiation Therapy Oncology Group. Logistic regression showed that systemic treatments did not influence the antiepileptics' efficacy on seizure control (P = 0.614). In conclusion, regarding the use of newer antiepileptics in patients with seizures related to brain metastases, our data indicate that LEV, OXC and TPM significantly reduce seizure frequency (independently of systemic treatment), produce few side effects and appear not to affect life expectancy.

Efficacy and tolerability of zonisamide as add-on in brain tumor-related epilepsy: preliminary report.

BACKGROUND: Zonisamide (ZNS) is an antiepileptic drug (AED) with broad spectrum action that demonstrated a good efficacy in controlling seizures as add-on in adult and pediatric epilepsy. To date there have been no studies on ZNS in patients with brain tumor-related epilepsy (BTRE). AIM OF THE STUDY: To evaluate efficacy and tolerability of ZNS as add-on in BTRE. METHODS: We followed six patients suffering from BTRE who had already been treated with other AEDs and who had had not experienced adequate seizure control. Three patients underwent chemotherapy while being treated with ZNS. Mean duration of follow-up was 8 months. RESULTS: Mean seizure number in the last month prior to the introduction of ZNS had been 27.7/month. ZNS mean dosage was of 283.3 mg/day. At last follow-up, the mean seizure number was reduced to 8.8/month. Responder rate was 83.3%.Two patients discontinued the drug because of side effects. There were no other reported side effects. CONCLUSIONS: Preliminary data on the use of ZNS in add-on in patients with BTRE indicate that this drug may represent a valid alternative as add-on in this particular patient population. However, larger samples are necessary to draw definitive conclusions.

Effects of unilateral subthalamic deep brain stimulation on contralateral arm sequential movements in Parkinson's disease.

In Parkinson's disease, unilateral deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN), unlike bilateral stimulation, excludes ipsilateral confounding effects so that the contralateral effects of DBS on motor performance can be investigated alone. Because no kinematic study has yet investigated how unilateral STN-DBS affects the performance of a contralateral fast sequential motor act, we performed a kinematic analysis of the movement duration, switching time and spatial accuracy of a motor arm sequence in 10 parkinsonian patients. Patients were studied without dopaminergic therapy and when they were OFF and ON unilateral STN-DBS. We found that unilateral STN-DBS significantly improved movement time of a motor sequence and the switching time from one sequential step to the next, whereas accuracy deteriorated. We conclude that unilateral STN-DBS improves the performance of contralateral sequential arm movements in patients with Parkinson's disease.

Fast voluntary neck movements in patients with cervical dystonia: a kinematic study before and after therapy with botulinum toxin type A.

OBJECTIVE: To study fast voluntary neck movements in patients with cervical dystonia (CD) before and after therapy with botulinum toxin type-A (BTX-A). METHODS: A selected sample of 15 patients with CD (with prevalent torticollis) and 13 age-matched control subjects performed both right and left rotational, and flexion and extension neck movements as fast as possible. Movements were recorded with a motion analysis system (SMART, BTS). Movement time, angular amplitude, and peak angular velocity were analyzed. In patients, rotational neck movements were pooled as "pro-dystonic" (toward the dystonic side) and "anti-dystonic" (toward the non-dystonic side). Results obtained in patients before BTX-A treatment were compared with those of control subjects. The effect of BTX-A treatment was evaluated by comparing movement performance before and after treatment. RESULTS: Before receiving BTX-A, patients performed pro- and anti-dystonic movements with lower peak angular velocity than control subjects. Pro-dystonic movements had a reduced angular amplitude. Anti-dystonic movements showed an abnormally long movement time. Flexion and extension movements required longer movement times, but the other kinematic variables were normal. After BTX-A injections, pro-dystonic movement amplitude and anti-dystonic movement peak angular velocity increased, whereas flexion and extension movements remained unchanged. CONCLUSIONS: Before BTX-A injection patients with CD perform fast voluntary neck movements abnormally and BTX-A injections improved their peak velocity and amplitude. SIGNIFICANCE: Kinematic studies can detect specific neck movement disturbance in patients with CD, and can quantify both the severity of clinical picture and the effect of BTX-A injections in these patients.

Motor cortical excitability studied with repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in patients with Huntington's disease.

OBJECTIVE: TMS techniques have provided controversial information on motor cortical function in Huntington's disease (HD). We investigated the excitability of motor cortex in patients with HD using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). METHODS: Eleven patients with HD, and 11 age-matched healthy subjects participated in the study. The clinical features of patients with HD were evaluated with the United Huntington's Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS). rTMS was delivered with a Magstim Repetitive Magnetic Stimulator through a figure-of-8 coil placed over the motor area of the first dorsal interosseus (FDI) muscle. Trains of 10 stimuli were delivered at 5 Hz frequency and suprathreshold intensity (120% resting motor threshold) with the subjects at rest and during voluntary contraction of the target muscle. RESULTS: In healthy subjects at rest, rTMS produced motor evoked potentials (MEPs) that increased in amplitude over the course of the trains. Conversely in patients, rTMS left the MEP size almost unchanged. In both groups, during voluntary contraction rTMS increased the silent period (SP) duration. CONCLUSIONS: Because rTMS modulates motor cortical excitability by activating cortical excitatory and inhibitory interneurons these findings suggest that in patients with HD the excitability of facilitatory intracortical interneurones is decreased. SIGNIFICANCE: We suggest that depressed excitability of the motor cortex in patients with HD reflects a disease-related weakening of cortical facilitatory mechanisms.

Neither simple nor sequential arm movements are bradykinetic in parkinsonian patients with peak-dose dyskinesias.

OBJECTIVE: To find out whether parkinsonian patients with levodopa-induced peak-dose dyskinesias are bradykinetic. METHODS: The performance of a sequential internally determined arm movement and a simple externally triggered arm movement was studied in a group of dyskinetic parkinsonian patients during their best clinical condition and when they were OFF treatment. Patients' performance was compared with that of an age-matched control group. Movements in the three-dimensional space were recorded by the ELITE motion analysis system. Kinematic variables analysed for the sequential motor task were total movement duration and total pause duration; for the simple motor task, movement duration and reaction time; and for both tasks, movement inaccuracy. RESULTS: When patients were OFF therapy they performed sequential and simple movement tasks slower than healthy subjects whereas when they were dyskinetic they did not. During the sequential task, when the patients were dyskinetic total pause duration shortened and movement inaccuracy increased. CONCLUSIONS: Our kinematic finding indicates that parkinsonian patients' with peak-dose dyskinesias are not bradykinetic. SIGNIFICANCE: Parkinsonian patients with peak-dose dyskinesias are not bradykinetic, probably because dopamine at peak doses functionally normalizes the mechanisms controlling movement speed.

Lacosamide as add-on in brain tumor-related epilepsy: preliminary report on efficacy and tolerability.

Lacosamide (LCM) is an antiepileptic drug (AED) that has demonstrated a good efficacy in controlling seizures as an add-on in adult epilepsy. To date, there have been no studies on LCM in patients with brain tumor-related epilepsy (BTRE). To evaluate efficacy and tolerability of LCM as an add-on in BTRE, we followed 14 patients suffering from BTRE who had already been treated with other AEDs and who had not experienced adequate seizure control. Eleven patients underwent chemotherapy while being treated with LCM. Mean duration of follow up was 5.4 months (min < 1 max 10 months). Mean seizure number in the last month prior to the introduction of LCM had been 15.4. At last follow-up, the mean seizure number was reduced to 1.9/month. Lacosamide mean dosage was of 332.1 mg/day (min 100 max 400 mg/day). Responder rate was 78.6%. One patient discontinued LCM because of side-effects. There were no other reported side-effects. Preliminary data on the use of LCM in add-on in patients with BTRE indicate that this drug may represent a valid alternative as an add-on in this particular patient population. However, larger samples are necessary in order to draw definitive conclusions.

Outcome and tolerability of topiramate in brain tumor associated epilepsy.

Epilepsy in brain tumor patients is often refractory to pharmacological treatments and can complicate the therapeutic management of these patients. We conducted a prospective, observational study. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy and tolerability of topiramate (TPM) in brain tumor associated epilepsy. We studied 47 patients with brain tumors and epilepsy. The entire group was administered AEDs. TPM was the first therapeutic choice in 14 patients, while in the remaining 33 patients previous AEDs were modified and TPM was introduced due to side effects or inefficacy of the first drug. Follow-up ranged from 3 to 48 months (mean 16.5 months). Considering the final follow-up of each patient who assumed TPM for at least 3 months, we observed 45 patients: 25 were seizure free (55.6%), 9 had a reduction of seizure frequency (SF) higher than 50% (20%) and 11 were stable (24.4%). TPM responder rate was 75.6%. Three patients (6.4%) discontinued TPM for severe side effects (1 after 4 months and 2 after 1 month) and 4 (8.5%) had mild and reversible side effects. In the group of patients who had been in therapy with other AEDs prior to entering the study (n = 33), 19 patients had side effects (57.6%). During follow-up, the haematological parameters were in the normative ranges. Tumor-related seizures are difficult to control with AEDs; the precise reasons for this difficulty are not yet clear. Using TPM, we obtained good seizure control with a low incidence of side effects.

Effects of 5 Hz subthreshold magnetic stimulation of primary motor cortex on fast finger movements in normal subjects.

We evaluated the effects of high-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on motor performance and motor learning of a rapid index finger movement. Two groups of healthy right-handed subjects underwent either "real" rTMS (1800 stimuli over the first dorsal interosseous (FDI) muscle hot spot given at 5 Hz and intensity of 90% of resting motor threshold-RMT) or "sham" stimulation. Both groups performed 60 rapid abductions of the right index finger before and after rTMS. The kinematic variables measured were amplitude, duration, peak velocity and peak acceleration. We also evaluated RMT and motor-evoked potential (MEP) amplitude before, 5 and 30 min after rTMS. In both groups practice significantly increased peak velocity, peak acceleration and amplitude and decreased movement duration independently from the type of intervention ("real" and "sham"). "Real" rTMS significantly increased cortical excitability as measured by MEP amplitude whereas "sham" rTMS did not. In our study, 5 Hz rTMS failed to improve either the motor performance or the motor learning of a rapid index-finger abduction despite the increase in cortical excitability of the primary motor cortex. Since motor behaviour engages a distributed cortical and subcortical neuronal network, excitatory conditioning of the primary motor cortex is probably not sufficient to influence the behavioural output.

Transgene expression in zebrafish: A comparison of retroviral-vector and DNA-injection approaches.

To assess alternative methods for introducing expressing transgenes into the germ line of zebrafish, transgenic fish that express a nuclear-targeted, enhanced, green fluorescent protein (eGFP) gene were produced using both pseudotyped retroviral vector infection and DNA microinjection of embryos. Germ-line transgenic founders were identified and the embryonic progeny of these founders were evaluated for the extent and pattern of eGFP expression. To compare the two modes of transgenesis, both vectors used the Xenopus translational elongation factor 1-alpha enhancer/promoter regulatory cassette. Several transgenic founder fish which transferred eGFP expression to their progeny were identified. The gene expression patterns are described and compared for the two modes of gene transfer. Transient expression of eGFP was detected 1 day after introducing the transgenes via either DNA microinjection or retroviral vector infection. In both cases of gene transfer, transgenic females produced eGFP-positive progeny even before the zygotic genome was turned on. Therefore, GFP was being provided by the oocyte before fertilization. A transgenic female revealed eGFP expression in her ovarian follicles. The qualitative patterns of gene expression in the transgenic progeny embryos after zygotic induction of gene expression were similar and independent of the mode of transgenesis. The appearance of newly synthesized GFP is detectable within 5-7 h after fertilization. The variability of the extent of eGFP expression from transgenic founder to transgenic founder was wider for the DNA-injection transgenics than for the retroviral vector-produced transgenics. The ability to provide expressing germ-line transgenic progeny via retroviral vector infection provides both an alternative mode of transgenesis for zebrafish work and a possible means of easily assessing the insertional mutagenesis frequency of retroviral vector infection of zebrafish embryos. However, because of the transfer of GFP from oocyte to embryo, the stability of GFP may create problems of analysis in embryos which develop as quickly as those of zebrafish.