Are adverse effects of antiepileptic drugs different in symptomatic partial and idiopathic generalized epilepsies? The Portuguese-Brazilian validation of the Liverpool Adverse Events Profile.

We report the results of administration of the Portuguese-Brazilian translation of the Liverpool Adverse Events Profile (LAEP) to 100 patients (mean age=34.5, SD=12.12; 56 females), 61 with symptomatic partial epilepsy (SPE) and 39 with idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE) (ILAE, 1989) who were on a stable antiepileptic drug (AED) regimen and being treated in a Brazilian tertiary epilepsy center. Carbamazepine was the most commonly used AED (43.0%), followed by valproic acid (32.0%). Two or more AEDs were used by 69.0% of patients. The mean LAEP score (19 questions) was 37.6 (SD=13.35). The most common adverse effects were sleepiness (35.0%), memory problems (35.0%), and difficulty in concentrating (25.0%). Higher LAEP scores were associated with polytherapy with three or more AEDs (P=0.005), female gender (P<0.001), older age (P<0.001), and uncontrolled seizures (P=0.045). The intraclass coefficient (test-retest reliability) for LAEP overall score was 0.848 (95% CI=0.782-0.895), with a range from 0.370 (unsteadiness) to 0.750 (memory problems). Cronbach's α coefficient (internal consistency) was 0.903. The LAEP was highly correlated with Quality of Life in Epilepsy-31 inventory (r=-0.804, P>0.001) and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (Depression: r=0.637, P<0.001; Anxiety: r=0.621, P<0.001) dimensions. LAEP overall scores were similar in people with SPE and IGE and were not helpful in differentiating adverse effects in these two groups. Clinical variables that influenced global LAEP were seizure frequency (P=0.050) and generalized tonic-clonic seizures in the last month (P=0.031) in the IGE group, and polytherapy with three or more AEDs (P=0.003 and P=0.003) in both IGE and SPE groups.

Higher evening antiepileptic drug dose for nocturnal and early-morning seizures.

We describe 17 children with nocturnal or early-morning seizures who were switched to a proportionally higher evening dose of antiepileptic drugs and were retrospectively reviewed for seizure outcome and side effects. Of 10 children with unknown etiology, clinical presentation was consistent with nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy (NFLE) in 5 and benign epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BECTS) in 3. After a mean follow-up of 5.3 months, 15 patients were classified as responders; 11 of these became seizure free (5 NFLE, 1 BECTS, 5 with structural lesions) and 4 (2 BECTS, 2 with structural lesions) experienced 75-90% reductions in seizures. Among two nonresponders, seizures in one had failed to resolve with epilepsy surgery. Nine subjects (53%) received monotherapy after dose modification, and none presented with worsening of seizures. Two complained of transient side effects (fatigue/somnolence). Differential dosing led to seizure freedom in 64.7% (11/17) of patients, and 88.2% (15/17) experienced ≥ 50% reductions in seizures.

Espectroscopia por ressonância magnética de prótons em epilepsia mioclônica juvenil sugere o comprometimento de uma rede neuronal específica / Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy study of juvenile myoclonic epilepsy patients suggests involvement of a specific neuronal network

OBJECTIVES: The neuroanatomical basis and the neurochemical abnormalities that underlay juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME) are not fully defined. While the thalamus plays a central role in synchronization of widespread regions of the cerebral cortex during a seizure, emerging evidence suggests that all cortical neurons may not be homogeneously involved. The purpose of this study was to investigate the cerebral metabolic differences between patients with JME and normal controls. METHODS: All patients had a JME diagnosis based on seizure history and semiology, EEG recording, normal magnetic resonance neuroimaging (MRI) and video-EEG. Forty JME patients (JME-P) were submitted to 1.5 T MRI proton spectroscopy (1H-MRS), multi-voxel with PRESS sequence (TR/TE = 1500/30 ms) over the following locations: prefrontal cortex (PC), frontal cortex (FC), thalamus, basal nuclei, posterior cingulate gyrus (PCG), insular, parietal and occipital cortices. We determined ratios for integral values of N-acetyl aspartate (NAA) and glutamine-glutamate (GLX) over creatine-phosphocreatine (Cr). The control group (CTL) consisted of 20 age and sex-matched healthy volunteers. RESULTS: Group analysis demonstrated a tendency for lower NAA/Cr ratio of JME-P compared to CTL predominantly on FC, PC, thalamus and occipital cortex. When compared to CTL, JME-P had a statistically significant difference in GLX/Cr on FC, PC, insula, basal nuclei, PCG and on thalamus. When evaluating the relationship among the various components of this epileptic network among JME-P, the strongest correlation occurred between thalamus and PC. Also, we found a significant negative correlation between NAA/Cr and duration of epilepsy. CONCLUSION: Reductions in NAA may represent loss or injury of neurons and/or axons, as well as metabolic dysfunction while glutamate is considered to be an excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain which is involved in the pathogenesis of epileptogenic seizures.

Juvenile myoclonic epilepsy: non-classic electroencephalographical presentation in adult patients.

Although diagnosis of juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME), a common form of idiopathic generalized epilepsy, is based on clinical and electroencephalogram (EEG) criteria, at times clinical symptoms may be misleading, like the occurrence of asymmetric myoclonic jerks. Thus EEG assumes an important role in these cases, it can fail to show the classical polyspike and slow wave (PSW) discharges of JME, specially in a routine evaluation in older patients. We analyzed retrospectively EEG results of 35 patients with JME [Commission on Classification and Terminology of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) Epilepsia 1989; 30: 389] aged 12-44 years. (mean 22.7 years) at first medical evaluation. EEG findings of 35 patients (19 females, 16 males) with JME consisted of normal tracings in 22.9 and 54.3% had at least one normal exam. EEG abnormalities present in 27 patients (77.1%) consisted of isolated generalized slowing in two and generalized discharges in 25: irregular spike and wave complexes (SWC) in 76%; PSW in 48%; SWC faster than 3 Hz in 20%; spikes, sharp waves, and irregular slow waves in 24%; asymmetric generalized epileptiform discharges in 40%; and associated focal paroxysms in 12%. Thus JME is classically associated to PSW on EEG, the most frequent abnormality was irregular SWC. Generalized paroxysms could occur in an asymmetric fashion and rarely associated to focal activity.

[Continuous spike-wave activity during sleep. Electroencephalographic and clinical features]. / Espícula-onda contínua durante o sono. Aspectos clínicos e eletrencefalográficos.

Seventeen children were retrospectively evaluated. They exhibited continuous spike-wave activity during slow wave sleep (CSWS). Five of these had only speech problems and seizures (Landau-Kleffner syndrome) (group 1). The other cases had developmental milestones acquisition delay and/or mental retardation (group 2). Epileptic seizures were present in 11 of these, tetraparesis was observed in 5, hemiparesis in 2, microcephaly in 2 and behavior disturbances in 4 cases. The electroencephalogram showed in all cases diffuse CSWS. Group 1 showed diffuse activity, at times accentuated in the centrotemporal region (4/5). Group 2 had widespread discharges, including multifocal activity (5/12), sometimes with anterior predominance (7/12). We concluded that CSWS is a non specific electrographic pattern observed in some types of epilepsy in childhood that have different clinical presentation. It has however some topographic differentiation, depending upon the lesional sites.

Pediatric multiple sclerosis report of 14 cases.

We present clinical data from 14 multiple sclerosis (MS) patients who have been admitted to our hospital between January 1980 and May 1992, whose age of onset ranged from 2-15 years. Our patients could be classified as having a clinically definite form of the disease. Initial symptoms varied from minor, such as motor or sensory impairment, bladder dysfunction, to the worst clinical presentation, suggesting diffuse encephalopathy. All the patients had a relapsing-remitting course. We report the paraclinical and laboratory examinations that were done in these patients. Over the period 1980 to 1992 these patients had 39 attacks. CSF analysis was performed in the phase of activity of the disease on 23 occasions and was normal in 12. At least one brain CT scan was performed in 9 patients and showed white matter abnormalities in 6. Cranial magnetic resonance imaging was done in 6 patients and were abnormal in 5. Visual evoked potential (EP) was abnormal in 7 of 8 patients; brainstem acoustic EP was abnormal in 4 of 8 patients and somatosensory EP in 4 of 8. MS is not so rare in childhood and although its diagnosis is essentially a clinical one, paraclinical investigations are of great value in the identification of demyelinating disorders in childhood.