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Background and Purpose: Our objective was to study the association between the presence of a neurological disease and the comorbidity burden as well as healthcare utilization (HCU)., Methods: Using baseline data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA), we examined the burden of five neurological conditions. The CLSA is a population-based study of approximately 50 000 individuals, aged 45-85 years at baseline. We used multivariable Poisson regression to identify correlates of comorbidity burden and HCU., Results: The lifetime prevalence of five neurological diseases is presented: epilepsy, Parkinson's disease/parkinsonism, stroke/transient ischaemic attack, multiple sclerosis and migraine. We found the somatic and psychiatric comorbidity burden to be higher in those individuals with a neurological disease (an 18-45% mean increase in the number of chronic conditions) as compared with the comparison group without a neurological disease, except for Parkinson's disease/parkinsonism. The presence of a neurological disease was associated with only a modest increase in the probability of visiting a general practitioner but was associated with a greatly increased probability of visiting a medical specialist (up to 68% more likely) or an emergency department (up to 79% more likely) and an overnight hospitalization (up to 108% more likely)., Conclusions: We found striking associations between our neurological diseases and increased comorbidity burdens and HCU. These findings are important for informing public policy planning as well as driving avenues for future research. The present study established the CLSA as an important research platform for the study of neurological conditions in an aging general population., (© 2018 EAN.)

The clinical utility of routine electroencephalography (EEG) after a first unprovoked seizure remains uncertain. Its diagnostic accuracy in identifying adults and children with new onset epilepsy was examined. A systematic review and meta-analysis of studies examining individuals who underwent routine EEG after a first unprovoked seizure and were followed for seizure recurrence for at least 1 year was performed. A 'positive' test was defined by the presence of epileptiform discharges (ED). Pooled sensitivity and specificity estimates were calculated using a bivariate random effects regression model. In all, 3096 records were reviewed, from which 15 studies were extracted with a total of 1799 participants. Amongst adult studies, the sensitivity and specificity (95% confidence interval) of routine EEG were 17.3% (7.9, 33.8) and 94.7% (73.7, 99.1), respectively. Amongst child studies, the pooled sensitivity and specificity were 57.8% (49.7, 65.6) and 69.6% (57.5, 79.5), respectively. Based upon our positive likelihood ratios, and assuming a pre-test probability of 50%, an adult with ED on routine EEG after a first unprovoked seizure has a 77% probability of having a second seizure, whilst a child with similar findings has a 66% probability. Further studies are required to examine the impact of patient characteristics and EEG features on the diagnostic accuracy of routine EEG for new onset epilepsy., (© 2015 EAN.)

A number of studies have suggested a pathophysiologic link between migraine and epilepsy. Our aim was to examine the relative lifetime prevalence of migraine in people with epilepsy (PWE) as well that of epilepsy in migraineurs. We carried out a systematic review, searching five electronic databases, specified bibliographies and conference abstracts in order to identify population-based studies that measured the lifetime co-prevalence of migraine and epilepsy. Two reviewers independently screened all titles and abstracts, carried out a risk of bias assessment and extracted the data. Meta-analyses were carried out using random effects models. Of the 3640 abstracts and titles screened, we identified 10 eligible studies encompassing a total of 1,548,967 subjects. Few of the studies used validated case ascertainment tools and there were inconsistent attempts to control for confounding. There was an overall 52% increase in the prevalence of migraine among PWE versus those without epilepsy [PR: 1.52 (95% CI: 1.29, 1.79)]. There was an overall 79% increase in the prevalence of epilepsy among migraineurs versus those without migraine [PR: 1.79 (95% CI: 1.43, 2.25)]. Subgroup analyses revealed that the method of ascertaining the epilepsy or migraine status of subjects was an important source of inter-study heterogeneity. Additional high quality primary studies are required, ones that use validated and accurate methods of case ascertainment as well as control for potential confounders., (© 2014 EAN.)

Background: Botulism is an acute paralytic illness caused by a neurotoxin produced by Clostridium botulinum. Supportive care, including intensive care, is key but the role of other medical treatments is unclear. This is an update of a review first published in 2011., Objectives: To assess the effects of medical treatments on mortality, duration of hospitalization, mechanical ventilation, tube or parenteral feeding and risk of adverse events in botulism., Search Methods: On 30 March 2013, we searched the Cochrane Neuromuscular Disease Group Specialized Register (30 March 2013), CENTRAL (2013, Issue 3) in The Cochrane Library, MEDLINE (January 1966 to March 2013) and EMBASE (January 1980 to March 2013). We reviewed bibliographies and contacted authors and experts., Selection Criteria: Randomized and quasi-randomized controlled trials examining the medical treatment of any of the four major types of botulism (infant intestinal botulism, food-borne botulism, wound botulism and adult intestinal toxemia). Potential medical treatments included equine serum trivalent botulism antitoxin, human-derived botulinum immune globulin, plasma exchange, 3,4-diaminopyridine and guanidine., Data Collection and Analysis: Two authors independently selected studies, assessed risk of bias and extracted data onto data extraction forms.Our primary outcome was in-hospital death from any cause occurring within four weeks. Secondary outcomes were death occurring within 12 weeks, duration of hospitalization, mechanical ventilation, tube or parenteral feeding and risk of adverse events., Main Results: A single randomized controlled trial met the inclusion criteria. We found no additional trials when we updated the searches in 2013. This trial evaluated human-derived botulinum immune globulin (BIG) for the treatment of infant botulism and included 59 treatment participants as well as 63 control participants. The control group received a control immune globulin which did not have an effect on botulinum toxin. In this trial there was some violation of intention-to-treat principles, and possibly some between-treatment group imbalances among those participants admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) and mechanically ventilated, but overall we judged the risk of bias to be low. There were no deaths in either group, making any treatment effect on mortality inestimable. There was a significant benefit in the treatment group on mean duration of hospitalization (BIG: 2.60 weeks, 95% CI 1.95 to 3.25; control: 5.70 weeks, 95% CI 4.40 to 7.00; mean difference (MD) 3.10 weeks, 95% CI 1.68 to 4.52), mechanical ventilation (BIG: 1.80 weeks, 95% CI 1.20 to 2.40; control: 4.40 weeks, 95% CI 3.00 to 5.80; MD 2.60 weeks, 95% CI 1.14 to 4.06), and tube or parenteral feeding (BIG: 3.60 weeks, 95% CI 1.70 to 5.50; control: 10.00 weeks, 95% CI 6.85 to 13.15; MD 6.40 weeks, 95% CI 2.80 to 10.00) but not on risk of adverse events or complications (BIG: 63.08%; control: 68.75%; risk ratio 0.92, 95% CI 0.72 to 1.18; absolute risk reduction 0.06, 95% CI 0.22 to -0.11)., Authors' Conclusions: There is evidence supporting the use of human-derived botulinum immune globulin (BIG) in infant intestinal botulism. A single randomized controlled trial demonstrated significant decreases in the duration of hospitalization, mechanical ventilation and tube or parenteral feeding with BIG treatment. This evidence was of moderate quality for effects on duration of mechanical ventilation but was otherwise of high quality. Our search did not reveal any evidence examining the use of other medical treatments including serum trivalent botulism antitoxin.

Background: Botulism is an acute paralytic illness caused by a neurotoxin produced by Clostridium botulinum. Supportive care, including intensive care, is key but the role of other medical treatments is unclear., Objectives: To assess the effects of medical treatments on mortality, duration of hospitalization, mechanical ventilation, tube or parenteral feeding and risk of adverse events in botulism., Search Strategy: We searched the Cochrane Neuromuscular Disease Group Specialized Register (10 January 2011), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (10 January 2010 in The Cochrane Library, Issue 4 2010), MEDLINE (January 1966 to January 2011) and EMBASE (January 1980 to January 2011). We reviewed bibliographies, and contacted authors and experts., Selection Criteria: We included randomized and quasi-randomized controlled trials examining the medical treatment of any of the four major types of botulism (infant intestinal botulism, food-borne botulism, wound botulism and adult intestinal toxemia). Medical treatments included equine serum trivalent botulism antitoxin, human-derived botulinum immune globulin, plasma exchange, 3,4-diaminopyridine and guanidine., Data Collection and Analysis: Two authors selected studies, assessed risk of bias and extracted data independently onto data extraction forms.Our primary outcome was in-hospital death from any cause occurring within four weeks. Secondary outcomes were death occurring within 12 weeks, duration of hospitalization, mechanical ventilation, tube or parenteral feeding and risk of adverse events., Main Results: A single randomized controlled trial met the inclusion criteria. This trial evaluated human-derived botulinum immune globulin for the treatment of infant botulism. This study included 59 treatment patients and 63 control patients. There were no deaths in either group making any treatment effect on mortality inestimable. There was a significant benefit in the treatment group on duration of hospitalization (mean difference (MD) 3.10 weeks, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.68 to 4.52), mechanical ventilation (MD 2.60 weeks, 95% CI 1.14 to 4.06), and tube or parenteral feeding (MD 6.40 weeks, 95% CI 2.80 to 10.00) but not on risk of adverse events or complications (relative risk reduction 0.92, 95% CI 0.72 to 1.18; absolute risk reduction 0.06, 95% CI 0.22 to -0.11)., Authors' Conclusions: There is good evidence supporting the use of human-derived botulinum immune globulin in infant intestinal botulism. A single randomized controlled trial demonstrated significant decreases in the duration of hospitalization, mechanical ventilation and tube or parenteral feeding among treated patients. Our search did not reveal any evidence examining the use of other medical treatments including serum trivalent botulism antitoxin.