Amyloid-beta protein precursor (AbetaPP) is overexpressed in Alzheimer's disease (AD), Down syndrome (DS), autism, and fragile X syndrome. Seizures are a common phenotype in all of these neurological disorders, yet the underlying molecular mechanism(s) of seizure induction and propagation remain largely unknown. We demonstrate that AD (Tg2576) and DS (Ts65Dn) mice exhibit audiogenic seizures, w...

We report the identification of bang senseless (bss), a Drosophila melanogaster mutant exhibiting seizure-like behaviors, as an allele of the paralytic (para) voltage-gated Na(+) (Na(V)) channel gene. Mutants are more prone to seizure episodes than normal flies because of a lowered seizure threshold. The bss phenotypes are due to a missense mutation in a segment previously implicated in inactiv...

This prospective observational study explored the efficacy and tolerability of levetiracetam (LEV) in a prospective series of 200 patients with refractory epilepsy attending a single epilepsy service. Patients were started on adjunctive LEV using one of two titration schedules (slow and fast) and patients were studied for at least 6 months after commencing LEV. Fifty-three patients had severe l...

This paper deals with the design of low power low noise neural signal amplifier for Epileptic Seizure Prediction. The advent of Micro-electro Arrays has driven the need for implantable electronic circuitry to detect those Extracellular neural signals (ENG). We proposed a preamplifier of fully differential Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) with gm boosting in order to enhance the gain as well as reduce ...

Disturbances in cognitive function, particularly memory, are a common complaint of patients with epilepsy. Factors contributing to cognitive dysfunction are the type of epilepsy, type and frequency of seizures, anti-epileptic drugs and the location of underlying brain lesions. Whilst a great deal of attention has been paid to permanent cognitive impairment, the nature and underlying mechanisms ...

Goodpasture's syndrome is a rare autoimmune disorder characterized by rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis (RPGN) and alveolar hemorrhage in the presence of antiglomerular basement membrane (anti-GBM) antibodies. Central nervous system involvement is highly unusual in the absence of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies. We report the case of a 20-year-old man with RPGN accompanied by bloody...

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...

Estimation of the Hurst parameter provides information about the memory range or correlations (long vs. short) of processes (time-series). A new application for the Hurst parameter, real-time event detection, is identified. Hurst estimates using rescaled range, dispersional and bridgedetrended scaled windowed variance analyses of seizure time-series recorded from human subjects reliably detect ...

This report concerns a 26-year-old Italian woman who was given the diagnosis of anti-NMDAR encephalitis after the incidental identification of an ovarian tumour. Neuropsychiatric symptoms and hyperkinetic movements are very commonly seen as initial symptoms of paraneoplastic encephalitis. Interestingly, our patient showed stereotypical movements predominantly located to lower limbs, mimicking a...