Corpus callosotomy has a long history as a palliative treatment for intractable epilepsy. Identification of a single epileptogenic zone is critical to performing successful resective surgery. We describe three patients in which corpus callosotomy allowed recognition of unapparent seizure foci, leading to subsequent successful resection. We retrospectively reviewed our epilepsy surgery database ...

OBJECTIVE Approximately one third of epileptic children do not achieve complete seizure improvement. Zonisamide is a new antiepileptic drug which is effective as adjunctive therapy in treatment of intractable partial seizures. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effectiveness, safety, and tolerability of Zonisamide in epileptic children. MATERIALS & METHODS From November 2011...

OBJECTIVE To compare the effectiveness of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) for use in older adults with epilepsy. DESIGN Retrospective review. SETTING Columbia Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, New York, New York. PATIENTS Four hundred seventeen outpatients 55 years and older newly taking any of the 10 most commonly prescribed AEDs between 2000 and 2005. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE The percentage of pa...

Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is an effective adjunctive treatment for patients with drugresistance epilepsy. Short and long-term VNS studies demonstrate a seizure-suppressing effect, with a more efficacy in long-term treatment. Precise mechanisms of VNS in attenuating seizure are not fully understood. Clarification of VNS mechanisms of action may improve its clinical efficacy, as it may provid...

New-onset refractory status epilepticus (NORSE) is a syndrome of new-onset drug resistant status epilepticus that often has a catastrophic outcome. A 30-year-old man of Somali origin presented with refractory status to a district general hospital. A clinical diagnosis of NORSE syndrome was made, and he was transferred to the regional epilepsy center for immunomodulatory treatment and considerat...

PURPOSE The efficacy and safety of the anti-convulsive drug levetiracetam (LEV) has been well documented but few clinical studies have investigated tolerance to LEV. The aim of this study was to evaluate the loss of the initial efficacy of LEV in adult patients with refractory partial-onset seizures. METHODS We enrolled patients with refractory partial epilepsy who were started on add-on LEV ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The main challenge in assessing patients with epilepsy is the localization of neuronal networks involved in seizure generation and the lateralization of seizure onset. Electro encephalogram-functional magnetic resonance imaging (EEG-fMRI) is a noninvasive multimodal imaging technique for epilepsies where the data is acquired based on the interictal epileptiform discharges...

OBJECTIVES This study provides the results of a cost-effectiveness analysis of levetiracetam as an adjunctive treatment for refractory epilepsy from the Canadian Ministry of Health perspective. The main objective is to estimate the expected cost-effectiveness ratio expressed as the incremental cost per seizure-free day gained when using levetiracetam. In addition, this study examines the potent...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate long-term outcomes of adjunctive therapy with SPN-804 (Oxtellar XR® , Supernus Pharmaceuticals), an extended-release tablet formulation of oxcarbazepine (OXC), in adults with refractory partial-onset seizures. METHODS After completing a 16-week double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of SPN-804 at fixed dosages (1200 or 2400 mg QD), patients entering this open-label exten...

A 27-year-old man with a diagnosis of new onset refractory status epilepticus (NORSE) was treated with five anti-seizure drugs (ASDs) including clobazam, levetiracetam and topiramate. He received plasma exchange (PE) for presumed autoimmune etiology. Serum ASD levels were serially monitored in two sessions. Levels of clobazam, levetiracetam and topiramate were significant reduced by PE. Serum c...