Summary:Purpose: We compared epileptiform activity recorded with EEG and magnetoencephalography (MEG) in 19 patients with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) and epilepsy.Methods: High-resolution (HR) EEG, HR-MEG, and 1.5-T MRI scans were performed. Epileptiform spikes were identified in EEG and MEG recordings offline by three observers. Spikes for which the interobserver agreement (spike consensus) was >0.40 were used for source localization with CURRYV 3.0 software. MUSIC analysis was performed. The distance between the source determined from EEG and MEG recordings and the border of the closest tuber was calculated and compared.Results: Consensus spikes (kappa >0.4) were identified in 12 patients in the EEG recording and in 14 patients in the MEG recording. MEG sources were closer to tubers in all but one patient. Three patients underwent epilepsy surgery, two of whom are seizure free after complete resection of the tuber.Conclusions: In patients with TSC, epileptogenic sources identified on MEG are closer to the presumed epileptogenic tuber than are similar sources identified on EEG. Moreover, spike consensus is greater with MEG. Clear identification of the epileptogenic zone may offer opportunities for surgery in patients with TSC with intractable epilepsy. Key Words: Tuberous sclerosis-Epilepsy-MEG-EEG.Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is a neurocutaneous syndrome, involving multiple organs. The characteristic hamartomas are most commonly found in the skin, retina, heart, kidney, and brain. TSC is an autosomal dominant disorder with linkage to chromosome 9q34 (TSC1) (1) and chromosome 16p13 (TSC2) (2). Hamartin and tuberin, the protein products of TSC1 and TSC2, respectively, are tumor-suppressor genes.In the CNS, the disordered proliferation, migration, and differentiation of neurons as a result of TSC give rise to noduli, subependymal giant-cell astrocytomas, and cortical tubers (3). Cortical tubers are associated with neurologic symptoms, such as epilepsy, mental retardation, and focal neurologic deficit. Although the phenotypic expression of TSC is extremely variable, seizures are common, occurring in 80-90% of cases, and are often the presenting symptom. Furthermore, they are often intractable (50%). Surgery should be considered in patients with TSC and drug-resistant epilepsy, but it may be difficult to identify the epileptogenic tuber if several tubers are distributed Accepted July 22, 2005. Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. F.E. Jansen at Department of Neurology, C03236, University Medical Center, PO Box 85500, 3508 GA Utrecht, The Netherlands. E-mail: f.e.jansen@neuro.azu.nl throughout the cerebral cortex. To date, the outcome of surgery has been variable in children with TSC (4-10).Although structural and functional imaging techniques [MRI, functional MRI (f MRI), single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), positron emission tomography (PET)] are being increasingly used in patient workup, epileptiform activity can be recorded only with neurophysiologic techniques. With standar...
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is associated with at least transient episodes of hypertension and tachycardia. Beta-blocking agents may be indicated to prevent cardiovascular complications and may shorten seizure duration. This review evaluates studies that used beta-blocking agents during ECT to determine which agent has the most favourable outcomes on cardiovascular variables and seizure duration. A Medline database search was made using the combined keywords 'adrenergic beta-antagonists' and 'electroconvulsive therapy'. The search was restricted to double-blind randomized controlled trials and yielded 29 original studies. With the use of esmolol, significant attenuating effects were found on cardiovascular parameters in the first 5 min after stimulation; its shortening effects on seizure duration may be dose-related. With the use of labetalol, findings on cardiovascular effects were inconsistent during the first minutes after stimulation but were significant after 5 min and thereafter; seizure duration was scarcely studied. Landiolol attenuates heart rate but with inconsistent findings regarding arterial pressure (AP); seizure duration was mostly unaffected. Esmolol appears to be effective in reducing the cardiovascular response, although seizure duration may be affected with higher dosages. Landiolol can be considered a suitable alternative, but effects on AP need further investigation. Labetalol has been studied to a lesser extent and may have prolonged cardiovascular effects. The included studies varied in design, methodology, and the amount of exact data provided in the publications. Further study of beta-blocking agents in ECT is clearly necessary.
Background:The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic interfered in the daily lives of people and is assumed to adversely affect mental health. However, the effects on mood (in)stability of bipolar disorder (BD) patients and the comparison to pre-COVID-19 symptom severity levels are unknown.Method: Between April and September, 2020, symptoms and well-being were assessed in the Bipolar Netherlands Cohort (BINCO) study of recently diagnosed patients with BD I and II. The questionnaire contained questions regarding manic and depressive symptoms (YMRS and ASRM, QIDS), worry (PSWQ), stress (PSS), loneliness, sleep, fear for COVID-19, positive coping, and substance use. As manic, depressive and stress symptoms levels were assessed pre-COVID-19, their trajectories during the lockdown restrictions were estimated using mixed models.Results: Of the 70 invited BD patients, 36 (51%) responded at least once (mean age of 36.7 years, 54% female, and 31% BD type 1) to the COVID-19 assessments. There was a significant increase (X 2 = 17.06; p = .004) in (hypo)manic symptoms from baseline during the first COVID-19 wave, with a decrease thereafter. Fear of COVID-19 (X 2 = 18.01; p = .003) and positive coping (X 2 = 12.44; p = .03) were the highest at the start of the pandemic and decreased thereafter. Other scales including depression and stress symptoms did not vary significantly over time. Conclusion:We found a meaningful increase in manic symptomatology from pre-COVID-19 into the initial phases of the pandemic in BD patients. These symptoms decreased along with fear of COVID-19 and positive coping during the following months when lockdown measures were eased.
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is considered an effective treatment for major depression with melancholic features. However, neurocognitive side-effects such as anterograde amnesia still regularly occur. The present study aims to evaluate the severity and course of anterograde amnesia in severely depressed patients undergoing ECT. In a prospective naturalistic study, anterograde memory function was assessed among inpatients who underwent ECT (n = 11). Subjects met DSM-IV criteria for major depressive disorder. Recruitment took place between March 2010-March 2011 and March 2012-March 2013. Controls treated with antidepressants (n = 9) were matched for age, gender and depression severity. Primary outcome measure was immediate recall; secondary outcome measures were delayed recall, recognition, and visual association. Differences were tested using repeated measures ANOVA and paired t-tests. Correlations with hypothesized covariates were calculated. In patients with major depressive disorder, ECT had a significant effect on delayed memory function (p<0.01 with large effect sizes). Findings on immediate recall were less consistent. Four weeks after treatment discontinuation, these memory functions had recovered. Age was identified as a very important covariate. The main limitations of our study are its naturalistic design, possibly compromising internal validity, and its small sample size. However, if these findings can be reproduced in a more comprehensive study group, then the possible induction of anterograde amnesia is not a justifiable reason for clinicians to disregard ECT as a treatment option.
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