Our findings show that brivaracetam clearly suppresses generalized photoparoxysmal EEG response. As such, investigations of the antiepileptic properties and tolerability of brivaracetam are warranted in further clinical studies of patients with epilepsy.

No abstract

Familial cortical myoclonic tremor (FCMT) is a rare disorder often leading to a wrong clinical diagnosis of essential tremor. Electrophysiological data are usually considered to allow a correct diagnosis. We describe a FCMT French family with previously unreported clinical features such as sensitivity to glucose deprivation, vibration, repetitive visual patterns, and intense visual or auditory stimulation and contrasts. Electrophysiological studies of the propositus confirm the cortical reflex myoclonus elicited by photic stimulation and the absence of epileptic electroencephalographic discharges. We emphasize that a precise clinical analysis can lead to a correct diagnosis before electrophysiological confirmation. This is also the first-ever report of efficacy of levetiracetam in FCMT.

In the elderly, IVIg infusions are safe. Adverse reactions mainly depend on IVIg preparation and administration. Renal failure is not uncommon with sugar-free IVIg.

No abstract

Epilepsy presurgical investigation may include focal intracortical single-pulse electrical stimulations with depth electrodes, which induce cortico-cortical evoked potentials (CCEP) at distant sites because of white matter connectivity. CCEPs provide a unique window on functional brain networks because they contain sufficient information to infer dynamical properties of large-scale brain connectivity, such as preferred directionality and propagation latencies. Here, we developed a biologically informed modelling approach to estimate the neural physiological parameters of brain functional networks from the CCEPs recorded in a large multicentric database. Specifically, we considered each CCEP as the output of a transient stimulus entering the stimulated region, which directly propagated to the recording region. Both regions were modelled as coupled neural mass models, the parameters of which were estimated from the first CCEP component, occurring before 80 ms, using dynamic causal modelling and Bayesian model inversion. This methodology was applied to the data of 780 patients with

Background: Early-onset seizures(ESs) have been reported in 2% to 6% of strokes. Most previous studies have been retrospective and did not systematically perform cerebral magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Paroxysmal dysarthria-ataxia syndrome (PDA) is a rare neurological disorder that can be either primary or symptomatic of acute neurological dysfunction. Episodes of symptomatic PDA are poorly documented and there are no video reports. We describe the cases of two patients with symptomatic PDA related to demyelinating diseases. Detailed studies of the patients' speech disorders showed that the dysarthria and gait disorders were of the ataxic type in both cases. Both patients had midbrain lesions at or below the level of the red nucleus, confirming that this area is critically involved in PDA. The best clinical signs for distinguishing between symptomatic and primary PDA are adult onset and short (<1 min) episodes in the former. If these signs are present, brain MRI should be used to identify a cause of symptomatic PDA.