Eslicarbazepine acetate (ESL) is a new antiepileptic drug whose mechanism of action is blockade of the voltage-gated sodium channel (VGSC). However, in respect to carbamazepine and oxcarbazepine, the active ESL metabolite (eslicarbazepine) affects slow inactivation of VGSC and has a similar affinity for the inactivated state and a lower affinity for the resting state of the channel. This new antiepileptic drug has been recently approved in Europe (trade name Zebinix) and in the United States (trade name Stedesa) for adjunctive treatment in adult subjects with partial-onset seizures, with or without secondary generalization. Following oral administration, ESL is rapidly and extensively metabolized by hepatic esterases to eslicarbazepine. This active metabolite has a linear pharmacokinetic profile, a low binding to plasma proteins (<40%), and a half-life of 20–24 hours and is mainly excreted by kidneys in an unchanged form or as glucuronide conjugates. ESL is administered once a day and has a low potential for drug–drug interactions. Efficacy and safety of this drug in patients with focal seizures have been assessed in four randomized clinical trials, and responder rates (percentage of patients with a ≥50% improvement of their seizures) ranged between 17% and 43%. Adverse events were usually mild to moderate, and the most common were dizziness, somnolence, diplopia, abnormal coordination, blurred vision, vertigo, headache, fatigue, nausea, and vomiting. ESL may be considered an interesting alternative to current antiepileptic drugs for the treatment of drug-resistant focal epilepsies. Additionally, it is under investigation in children with focal epilepsies, in patients with newly diagnosed focal epilepsies, and also in other neurological and psychiatric disorders.
Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a relevant risk factor for the development of asthma in children. We recruited a cohort of 104 children with AR and re-evaluated them after 5 years. We considered the ARIA classification. All patients, who had moderate to severe persistent AR at baseline, developed asthma symptoms. These results strongly indicate that the severity of AR may be an important factor that increases the risk of asthma development in children.
Children with chromosomal 18 abnormalities can present different types of epilepsy, more frequently focal seizures in individuals with 18q- deletion syndrome, while both complex partial seizures and generalized tonic-clonic seizures have been described in patients who suffer for trisomy 18. Outcome in term of seizures frequency and duration seems to be variable and epilepsy is drug resistant in half of the children, especially in children with trisomy 18 and generalized epilepsy.
Vaginal ulcers can be associated with a number of different diseases. We describe two girls who presented genital ulcers as a persistent symptom of PFAPA (periodic fever, aphthous stomatitis, pharyngitis, cervical adenitis) syndrome. The possibility of considering this clinical manifestation as a clue for the diagnosis of PFAPA is discussed.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.