One Seizure (one + seizure)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


A Study of 43 Patients with Panayiotopoulos Syndrome, a Common and Benign Childhood Seizure Susceptibility

EPILEPSIA, Issue 1 2003
Christina Lada
Summary: ,Purpose: To determine prevalence, clinical, EEG features, and prognosis of Panayiotopoulos syndrome and to examine the proposition that clinical manifestations are more important than EEG findings. Methods: We analyzed retrospectively the clinical and EEG records of 1,340 children with one or more focal seizures seen in the last 18 years, supplemented with a prospective study from 1998. Panayiotopoulos syndrome was defined by clinical criteria, mainly ictal emesis, irrespective of EEG findings. Results: We analyzed 43 of 90 patients with Panayiotopoulos syndrome who were seizure free >2 years. Girls predominated. Mean age at first seizure was 5 years. Seizures consisted mainly of autonomic manifestations; ictal emesis was often the first symptom, culminating in vomiting in 86%. Of nonautonomic manifestations, lateral eye deviation was the most common; visual symptoms were exceptional. Impairment of consciousness ensued in all seizures, half of which ended with hemi or generalized convulsions. Nearly 46.5% of cases had at least one seizure >30 min, constituting autonomic status epilepticus. Seizures during sleep (84%) were more common than those in wakefulness. EEG showed occipital spikes in 29 patients. Of the other 14 cases, five had extraoccipital abnormalities or brief generalized discharges, and nine had normal awake and sleep EEG. Prognosis was excellent. All 43 children have been free of seizures for ,2 years, 53% having a single seizure, and 47%, an average two to three seizures. Conclusions: Panayiotopoulos syndrome is common and needs wider recognition. EEG shows occipital or extraoccipital abnormalities, is normal in one third of patients, and does not determine clinical manifestations or prognosis, which is excellent despite the high prevalence of lengthy seizures. [source]


Add-on Phenytoin Fails to Prevent Early Seizures after Surgery for Supratentorial Brain Tumors: A Randomized Controlled Study

EPILEPSIA, Issue 2 2002
Antonio De Santis
Summary: ,Purpose: To determine the potential effectiveness of phenytoin (PHT) in preventing early postoperative seizures in patients undergoing craniotomy for supratentorial brain tumors. Methods: Two hundred patients requiring elective craniotomy for supratentorial brain tumors were randomized to two groups of equal size, with a prospective, open-label, controlled design. One group received PHT (18 mg/kg as an intravenous intraoperative load, followed by additional daily doses aimed at maintaining serum PHT concentrations within the 10- to 20-ęg/ml range) for 7 consecutive days. In the other group, PHT was not administered. More than 90% of patients in both groups continued to take preexisting anticonvulsant medication (AEDs) with carbamazepine or phenobarbital throughout the study. The primary efficacy end point was the number of patients remaining free from seizures during the 7-day period after the operation. Results: Of 100 patients allocated to PHT, 13 experienced seizures during the 7-day observation period, compared with 11 of 100 patients in the placebo group (p > 0.05). Most seizures occurred in the first day after surgery in both groups. There were no differences between groups in the proportion of patients experiencing more than one seizure, but there was a trend for generalized seizures to be more common in PHT-treated patients than in controls (11 vs. five patients, respectively). Status epilepticus occurred in one patient in the PHT group and in two patients in the control group. Of the 13 PHT-treated seizure patients, 11 had serum PHT concentrations within the target range, and only two had concentrations below range on the days their seizures occurred. Conclusions: PHT, given at dosages producing serum concentrations within the target range, failed to prevent early postoperative seizures in patients treated with concomitant AEDs. Prophylactic administration of PHT cannot be recommended in these patients. [source]


The epidemiology of epilepsy in Europe , a systematic review

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY, Issue 4 2005
L. Forsgren
Population-based epidemiological studies on epilepsy are available mainly from the UK and the Nordic, Baltic and western Mediterranean countries. No studies were identified from large areas of Europe, especially from the former eastern Europe (except the Baltic countries) and the eastern Mediterranean countries. Based on the prevalence of epilepsy in different studies and accounting for incomplete case identification the estimated number of children and adolescents in Europe with active epilepsy is 0.9 million (prevalence 4.5,5.0 per 1000), 1.9 million in ages 20,64 years (prevalence six per 1000) and 0.6 million in ages 65 years and older (prevalence seven per 1000). Approximately 20,30% of the epilepsy population have more than one seizure per month. Based on the age-specific incidence rates in European studies, the estimated number of new cases per year amongst European children and adolescents is 130 000 (incidence rate 70 per 100 000), 96 000 in adults 20,64 years (incidence rate 30 per 100 000) and 85 000 in the elderly 65 years and older (incidence 100 per 100 000). The proportion of both new and established cases with epilepsy in the young, adults and elderly in individual countries may differ substantially from total European distribution because of differences in age structure. [source]


Idiopathic epilepsy in dogs: owners' perspectives on management with phenobarbitone and/or potassium bromide

JOURNAL OF SMALL ANIMAL PRACTICE, Issue 10 2006
Y. Chang
Objectives: To explore seizure management from the perspective of the owners of dogs with idiopathic epilepsy. Methods: Questionnaires were mailed to owners of 29 dogs under management for suspected or diagnosed idiopathic epilepsy through the clinics of the Small Animal Hospital of the University of Glasgow Veterinary School, using either phenobarbitone or potassium bromide alone or in combination. Results: The postal survey had an 86 per cent response rate. Analysis of the responses demonstrated that "the dog's quality of life", "adequate seizure frequency" and "acceptable side effects of antiepileptic drugs" were the three greatest concerns for owners; 52 per cent of owners strongly agreed that the seizure management for their dog was adequate, though the seizure frequency reported varied within this group; the majority of owners did not consider the administration of medication a nuisance. However, approximately 60 per cent of owners reported that caring for an epileptic dog had an effect on the organisation of their free time, though this was not dependent on perception of seizure control. Opinions as to the value of further diagnostic procedures, in particular intracranial imaging, were significantly affected by having pet health insurance. Clinical Significance: From the owners' perspective, adequacy of seizure control is determined by the balance between "the dog's quality of life", "adequate seizure frequency" and "acceptable side effects of antiepileptic drugs". A frequency of less than one seizure every three months is associated with the perception by owners of adequate seizure control. [source]


Seizures in the intrahippocampal kainic acid epilepsy model: characterization using long-term video-EEG monitoring in the rat

ACTA NEUROLOGICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 5 2009
R. Raedt
Objective,,, Intrahippocampal injection of kainic acid (KA) in rats evokes a status epilepticus (SE) and leads to spontaneous seizures. However to date, precise electroencephalographic (EEG) and clinical characterization of spontaneous seizures in this epilepsy model using long-term video-EEG monitoring has not been performed. Materials and Methods,,, Rats were implanted with bipolar hippocampal depth electrodes and a cannula for the injection of KA (0.4 ,g/0.2 ,l) in the right hippocampus. Video-EEG monitoring was used to determine habitual parameters of spontaneous seizures such as seizure frequency, severity, progression and day,night rhythms. Results,,, Spontaneous seizures were detected in all rats with 13 out of 15 animals displaying seizures during the first eight weeks after SE. A considerable fraction (35%) of the spontaneous seizures did not generalize secondarily. Seizure frequency was quite variable and the majority of the KA-treated animals had less than one seizure per day. A circadian rhythm was observed in all rats that showed sufficient seizures per day. Conclusions,,, This study shows that the characteristics of spontaneous seizures in the intrahippocampal KA model display many similarities to other SE models and human temporal lobe epilepsy. [source]