Abstract:Typical absences are brief (seconds) generalised seizures of sudden onset and termination. They have 2 essential components: clinically, the impairment of consciousness (absence) and, generalised 3 to 4Hz spike/polyspike and slow wave discharges on electroencephalogram (EEG). They differ fundamentally from other seizures and are pharmacologically unique. Their clinical and EEG manifestations are syndrome-related. Impairment of consciousness may be severe, moderate, mild or inconspicuous. This is often associat… Show more
“…ESM is still considered a first-line treatment for absence seizures, particularly for children with CAE with only this seizures type [34]. ESM may also be effective as adjunctive treatment for myoclonic seizures [35], drop attacks [36], and negative myoclonus [37].…”
Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders of childhood, and antiepileptic drugs represent the main component of its treatment. The current emphasis in epilepsy treatment is to improve quality of life, not only by suppressing seizure, but also by minimizing the side effects of medications. The last 15 years have been characterized by significant advances in the development of new agents that have helped us to get closer to this goal. Knowledge of the essential properties, key indications and interactions of each antiepileptic drug will help to optimize efficacy and reduce adverse reactions. Age is also a determining factor of the epilepsy phenotype and its treatment. This review addresses the principles of pediatric epilepsy treatment, summarizes the profile of each of the commonly used antiepileptic drugs, and provides a treatment paradigm for particular seizures and epilepsy syndromes of childhood.
“…ESM is still considered a first-line treatment for absence seizures, particularly for children with CAE with only this seizures type [34]. ESM may also be effective as adjunctive treatment for myoclonic seizures [35], drop attacks [36], and negative myoclonus [37].…”
Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders of childhood, and antiepileptic drugs represent the main component of its treatment. The current emphasis in epilepsy treatment is to improve quality of life, not only by suppressing seizure, but also by minimizing the side effects of medications. The last 15 years have been characterized by significant advances in the development of new agents that have helped us to get closer to this goal. Knowledge of the essential properties, key indications and interactions of each antiepileptic drug will help to optimize efficacy and reduce adverse reactions. Age is also a determining factor of the epilepsy phenotype and its treatment. This review addresses the principles of pediatric epilepsy treatment, summarizes the profile of each of the commonly used antiepileptic drugs, and provides a treatment paradigm for particular seizures and epilepsy syndromes of childhood.
“…In the electroencephalogram (EEG), generalized absence seizures of epilepsy, mainly occurring in children and juvenile (Marten et al, 2009), are typically characterized by bilaterally highly synchronized 2–4 Hz spike and wave discharges (SWD) (Meeren et al, 2002; Sitnikova, 2010) with a brief impairment of consciousness (i.e., absence) (Panayiotopoulos, 2001; Sitnikova, 2010). In addition, absence epilepsy is the petit-mal onset and never accompanied by aura and convulsions.…”
The mechanisms underlying electrophysiologically observed two-way transitions between absence and tonic-clonic epileptic seizures in cerebral cortex remain unknown. The interplay within thalamocortical network is believed to give rise to these epileptic multiple modes of activity and transitions between them. In particular, it is thought that in some areas of cortex there exists feedforward inhibition from specific relay nucleus of thalamus (TC) to inhibitory neuronal population (IN) which has even more stronger functions on cortical activities than the known feedforward excitation from TC to excitatory neuronal population (EX). Inspired by this, we proposed a modified computational model by introducing feedforward inhibitory connectivity within thalamocortical circuit, to systematically investigate the combined effects of feedforward inhibition and excitation on transitions of epileptic seizures. We first found that the feedforward excitation can induce the transition from tonic oscillation to spike and wave discharges (SWD) in cortex, i.e., the epileptic tonic-absence seizures, with the fixed weak feedforward inhibition. Thereinto, the phase of absence seizures corresponding to strong feedforward excitation can be further transformed into the clonic oscillations with the increasing of feedforward inhibition, representing the epileptic absence-clonic seizures. We also observed the other fascinating dynamical states, such as periodic 2/3/4-spike and wave discharges, reversed SWD and clonic oscillations, as well as saturated firings. More importantly, we can identify the stable parameter regions representing the tonic-clonic oscillations and SWD discharges of epileptic seizures on the 2-D plane composed of feedforward inhibition and excitation, where the physiologically plausible transition pathways between tonic-clonic and absence seizures can be figured out. These results indicate the functional role of feedforward pathways in controlling epileptic seizures and the modified thalamocortical model may provide a guide for future efforts to mechanistically link feedforward pathways in the pathogenesis of epileptic seizures.
“…Dos pacientes que salieron del estudio probablemente hayan tenido Ausencias Secundarias y no se describen sus características clínicas ni epidemiológicas. El porcentaje de ausencias con respecto al total de pacientes con epilepsia es ligeramente inferior al encontrado por Panayiotopoulos quien señala un porcentaje de 10% para las ausencias (11). Aquí, cabe considerar el factor asociado a la pobre referencia hacia nuestro hospital por el desconocimiento de la naturaleza y etiología de las manifestaciones clínicas de las ausencias.…”
Objetivo: Describir las caracteristicas clínicas y epidemiologicas de la epilepsia-ausencias en niños en el Hospital Nacional Cayetano Heredia (HNCH). Material y Métodos: Estudio descriptivo-retrospectivo. Se identificaron los pacientes con diagnóstico de ausencias del Servicio de Neuropediatría atendidos desde enero de 1998 hasta diciembre del 2002. Criterios de inclusión: manifestaciones clínicas de ausencias y Electroencefalograma característico. Exclusión: pacientes con lesiones cerebrales. Resultados: Se incluyeron 33 pacientes (6.4% del total). La edad promedio al inicio de enfermedad fue 6.6 años, sexo femenino: 54.5% y tiempo de enfermedad antes del diagnóstico: 12.5 meses. Presentaron antecedente familiar de convulsiones 30.3% y antecedente de eventos perinatales adversos 18.2%. El 39.4% de pacientes presentó ausencias simples y 60.6% ausencias complejas. El 36.4% tuvo inicialmente un patrón electroencefalográfico bilateral asimétrico que posteriormente se tornó simétrico. Todos recibieron ácido valproico pero en 6% se tuvo que cambiar de medicación debido a efectos adversos y 12% tuvieron que recibir terapia combinada por falta de control. Edad, sexo, tipo de crisis, EEG, antecedentes familiares o perinatales, no influyeron en las características clínicas, electroencefalográficas o respuesta terapéutica. Conclusión: Las ausencias representan 6.4% de todas las epilepsias. La edad promedio es de 6.6 años, los antecedentes familiares están presentes en 30.3% de los pacientes y los eventos adversos perinatales en 18.2%. Las ausencias complejas con automatismos son las más frecuentes y el ácido valproico es un tratamiento efectivo. El tiempo de enfermedad antes del diagnóstico fue 12.5 meses por lo cual se recomienda mayor difusión a nivel de padres, educadores y personal de salud para diagnóstico y control oportunos.
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