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Objective: To study the effectiveness and tolerability of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) commonly used in juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME). Methods: People with JME were identified from a large database of individuals with epilepsy, which includes detailed retrospective information on AED use. We assessed secular changes in AED use and calculated rates of response (12-month seizure freedom) and adverse drug reactions (ADRs) for the five most common AEDs. Retention was modeled with a Cox proportional hazards model. We compared valproate use between males and females. Results: We included 305 people with 688 AED trials of valproate, lamotrigine, levetiracetam, carbamazepine, and topiramate. Valproate and carbamazepine were most often prescribed as the first AED. The response rate to valproate was highest among the five AEDs (42.7%), and significantly higher than response rates for lamotrigine, carbamazepine, and topiramate; the difference to the response rate to levetiracetam (37.1%) was not significant. The rates of ADRs were highest for topiramate (45.5%) and valproate (37.5%). Commonest ADRs included weight change, lethargy, and tremor. In the Cox proportional hazards model, later start year (1.10 [1.08-1.13], P, SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

BackgroundThe Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) is an ongoing observational, longitudinal cohort study of participants with Parkinson's disease, healthy controls, and carriers of the most common Parkinson's disease-related genetic mutations, which aims to define biomarkers of Parkinson's disease diagnosis and progression. All participants are assessed annually with a battery of motor and non-motor scales, 123-I Ioflupane dopamine transporter (DAT) imaging, and biological variables. We aimed to examine whether non-manifesting carriers of LRRK2 and GBA mutations have prodromal features of Parkinson's disease that correlate with reduced DAT binding.MethodsThis cross-sectional analysis is based on assessments done at enrolment in the subset of non-manifesting carriers of LRRK2 and GBA mutations enrolled into the PPMI study from 33 participating sites worldwide. The primary objective was to examine baseline clinical and DAT imaging characteristics in non-manifesting carriers with GBA and LRRK2 mutations compared with healthy controls. DAT deficit was defined as less than 65% of putamen striatal binding ratio expected for the individual's age. We used t tests, χ2 tests, and Fisher's exact tests to compare baseline demographics across groups. An inverse probability weighting method was applied to control for potential confounders such as age and sex. To account for multiple comparisons, we applied a family-wise error rate to each set of analyses. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01141023.FindingsBetween Jan 1, 2014, and Jan 1, 2019, the study enrolled 208 LRRK2 (93% G2019S) and 184 GBA (96% N370S) non-manifesting carriers. Both groups were similar with respect to mean age, and about 60% were female. Of the 286 (73%) non-manifesting carriers that had DAT imaging results, 18 (11%) LRRK2 and four (3%) GBA non-manifesting carriers had a DAT deficit. Compared with healthy controls, both LRRK2 and GBA non-manifesting carriers had significantly increased mean scores on the Movement Disorders Society Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (total score 4·6 [SD 4·4] healthy controls vs 8·4 [7·3] LRRK2 vs 9·5 [9·2] GBA, p

OBJECTIVE: The mechanisms by which antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) cause birth defects (BDs) are unknown. Data suggest that AED-induced BDs may result from a genome-wide increase of de novo variants in the embryo, a mechanism which we investigated. METHODS: Whole-exome sequencing data from child-parent trios were interrogated for de novo single-nucleotide variants/indels (dnSNVs/indels) and copy number variants (dnCNVs). Generalized linear models were applied to assess de novo variant burdens in: children exposed prenatally to AEDs (AED-exposed children) vs children without BDs not exposed prenatally to AEDs (AED-unexposed unaffected children), and AED-exposed children with BDs vs those without BDs, adjusting for confounders. Fisher's exact test was used to compare categorical data. RESULTS: 67 child-parent trios were included: 10 with AED-exposed children with BDs; 46 with AED-exposed unaffected children; 11 with AED-unexposed unaffected children. The dnSNV/indel burden did not differ between AED-exposed children and AED-unexposed unaffected children [median dnSNV/indel number/child (range): 3 (0-7) vs 3 (1-5), p = 0.50]. Among AED-exposed children, there were no significant differences between those with BDs and those unaffected. Likely deleterious dnSNVs/indels were detected in 9/67 (13%) children, none of whom had BDs. The proportion of cases harbouring likely deleterious dnSNVs/indels did not differ significantly between AED-unexposed and AED-exposed children. The dnCNV burden was not associated with AED exposure or birth outcome. INTERPRETATION: Our study indicates that prenatal AED exposure does not increase the burden of de novo variants, and that this mechanism is not a major contributor to AED-induced BDs. These results can be incorporated in routine patient counselling. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Objective: Clinical and genetic predictors of response to antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) are largely unknown. We examined predictors of lacosamide response in a real-world clinical setting. Methods: We tested the association of clinical predictors with treatment response using regression modeling in a cohort of people with refractory epilepsy. Genetic assessment for lacosamide response was conducted via genome-wide association studies and exome studies, comprising 281 candidate genes. Results: Most patients (479/483) were treated with LCM in addition to other AEDs. Our results corroborate previous findings that patients with refractory genetic generalized epilepsy (GGE) may respond to treatment with LCM. No clear clinical predictors were identified. We then compared 73 lacosamide responders, defined as those experiencing greater than 75% seizure reduction or seizure freedom, to 495 nonresponders (, SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Author(s): Chahine, Lana M; Siderowf, Andrew; Barnes, Janel; Seedorff, Nicholas; Caspell-Garcia, Chelsea; Simuni, Tanya; Coffey, Christopher S; Galasko, Douglas; Mollenhauer, Brit; Arnedo, Vanessa; Daegele, Nichole; Frasier, Mark; Tanner, Caroline; Kieburtz, Karl; Marek, Kenneth; The Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative | Abstract: BackgroundImproved prediction of Parkinson's disease (PD) progression is needed to support clinical decision-making and to accelerate research trials.ObjectivesTo examine whether baseline measures and their 1-year change predict longer-term progression in early PD.MethodsParkinson's Progression Markers Initiative study data were used. Participants had disease duration ≤2 years, abnormal dopamine transporter (DAT) imaging, and were untreated with PD medications. Baseline and 1-year change in clinical, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and imaging measures were evaluated as candidate predictors of longer-term (up to 5 years) change in Movement Disorders Society-Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) score and DAT specific binding ratios (SBR) using linear mixed-effects models.ResultsAmong 413 PD participants, median follow-up was 5 years. Change in MDS-UPDRS from year-2 to last follow-up was associated with disease duration (β= 0.351; 95% CI = 0.146, 0.555), male gender (β= 3.090; 95% CI = 0.310, 5.869), and baseline (β= -0.199; 95% CI = -0.315, -0.082) and 1-year change (β= 0.540; 95% CI = 0.423, 0.658) in MDS-UPDRS; predictors in the model accounted for 17.6% of the variance in outcome. Predictors of percent change in mean SBR from year-2 to last follow-up included baseline rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder score (β= -0.6229; 95% CI = -1.2910, 0.0452), baseline (β= 7.232; 95% CI = 2.268, 12.195) and 1-year change (β= 45.918; 95% CI = 35.994,55.843) in mean striatum SBR, and 1-year change in autonomic symptom score (β= -0.325;95% CI = -0.695, 0.045); predictors in the model accounted for 44.1% of the variance.ConclusionsBaseline clinical, CSF, and imaging measures in early PD predicted change in MDS-UPDRS and dopamine-transporter binding, but the predictive value of the models was low. Adding the short-term change of possible predictors improved the predictive value, especially for modeling change in dopamine-transporter binding.

Objective: To ascertain the clinical and genetic factors contributing to carbamazepine- and oxcarbazepine-induced hyponatremia (COIH), and to carbamazepine (CBZ) metabolism, in a retrospectively collected, cross-sectional cohort of people with epilepsy. Methods: We collected data on serum sodium levels and antiepileptic drug levels in people with epilepsy attending a tertiary epilepsy center while on treatment with CBZ or OXC. We defined hyponatremia as Na+ ≤134 mEq/L. We estimated the CBZ metabolic ratio defined as the log transformation of the ratio of metabolite CBZ-diol to unchanged drug precursor substrate as measured in serum. Results: Clinical and genetic data relating to carbamazepine and oxcarbazepine trials were collected in 1141 patients. We did not observe any genome-wide significant associations with sodium level in a linear trend or hyponatremia as a dichotomous trait. Age, sex, number of comedications, phenytoin use, phenobarbital use, and sodium valproate use were significant predictors of CBZ metabolic ratio. No genome-wide significant associations with CBZ metabolic ratio were found. Significance: Although we did not detect a genetic predictor of hyponatremia or CBZ metabolism in our cohort, our findings suggest that the determinants of CBZ metabolism are multifactorial., SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

SummaryObjective Mesial temporal lobe epilepsy with hippocampal sclerosis (MTLE-HS) is a common epilepsy syndrome that is often poorly controlled by antiepileptic drug (AED) treatment. Comparative AED effectiveness studies in this condition are lacking. We report retention, efficacy, and tolerability in a cohort of patients with MTLE-HS. Methods Clinical data were collected from a European database of patients with epilepsy. We estimated retention, 12-month seizure freedom, and adverse drug reaction (ADR) rates for the 10 most commonly used AEDs in patients with MTLE-HS. Results Seven hundred sixty-seven patients with a total of 3,249 AED trials were included. The highest 12-month retention rates were observed with carbamazepine (85.9%), valproate (85%), and clobazam (79%). Twelve-month seizure freedom rates varied from 1.2% for gabapentin and vigabatrin to 11% for carbamazepine. Response rates were highest for AEDs that were prescribed as initial treatment and lowest for AEDs that were used in a third or higher instance. ADRs were reported in 47.6% of patients, with the highest rates observed with oxcarbazepine (35.7%), topiramate (30.9%), and pregabalin (27.4%), and the lowest rates with clobazam (6.5%), gabapentin (8.9%), and lamotrigine (16.6%). The most commonly reported ADRs were lethargy and drowsiness, dizziness, vertigo and ataxia, and blurred vision and diplopia. Significance Our results did not demonstrate any clear advantage of newer versus older AEDs. Our results provide useful insights into AED retention, efficacy, and ADR rates in patients with MTLE-HS.

Purpose Despite the availability of a broad range of treatments for epilepsy, a significant proportion of patients have ongoing seizures. This study aims to characterize the drug resistant population and to report long-term outcomes of patients undergoing different types of pharmacological and surgical treatment. Methods Adult patients with drug resistant epilepsy (DRE) were identified from a largely retrospective database of 900 consecutive patients with epilepsy, recruited from two reference centers for DRE in Belgium. We report treatment trajectories and long-term seizure outcomes in the different treatment groups. Results 640 patients had DRE. 249 (38.9%) underwent presurgical assessment, followed by surgical treatment in 197 (30.8%), resulting in seizure freedom in 86 (13.4%). 443 patients (69.2%) were treated only with further AED trials, of which 163 (25.5%) became seizure free. In the 391 patients with ongoing seizures (61.1%), mean age was 43.2 years, mean disease duration 23 years and mean number of AED trials 6.9. 291 (74.4%) had tonic-clonic seizures, and 43 (11.0%) had one or more episodes of status epilepticus. Patients with hippocampal sclerosis were significantly more likely to be seizure free, while patients with malformation of cortical development and those with temporal lobe epilepsy of unknown etiology were more likely to have ongoing seizures. Conclusion Our findings demonstrate that – even with adequate access to surgical treatment and further AED trials – 61.1% of patients with DRE had ongoing seizures. This illustrates that there is a scope for ongoing development of novel treatments for DRE.

Background. The receptor activator of nuclear factor kB ligand (RANKL), produced by osteoblasts/stromal cells, is a member of the RANK/RANKL/OPG system, which regulates bone resorption by osteoclasts. Since RANKL and osteoprotegerin (OPG) production in bone is influenced by parathyroid hormone (PTH), we measured serum RANKL and OPG concentrations in haemodialysis (HD) patients, who commonly hypersecrete PTH. We aimed to determine if clinically demonstrated PTH-enhanced bone resorption is a consequence of increased RANKL synthesis. Methods. RANKL, OPG, osteocalcin, intact PTH, bone-specific alkaline phosphatase, tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase 5b and b-CrossLaps (CTx) were measured in blood samples from 80 HD patients and 50 age-matched controls. HD patients were stratified to tertiles according to their serum PTH levels: 29.3–103.0, 109.7–263.0 and 262.0–1700.0 pg/ml in the first, second and third tertiles, respectively. Results. Mean serum RANKL levels were 1.6 times higher in HD patients than in age-matched controls (1.36±0.39 vs 0.83±0.70 pmol/l; P

OBJECTIVE: To ascertain possible determinants of carbamazepine (CBZ)- and oxcarbazepine (OXC)-induced hyponatremia in a large cohort of people with epilepsy.METHODS: We collected data on serum sodium levels in people with epilepsy who were attending a tertiary epilepsy center while on treatment with CBZ or OXC. We defined hyponatremia as Na+ ≤134 mEq/L and severe hyponatremia as Na+ ≤128 mEq/L.RESULTS: We identified 1,782 people who had used CBZ (n = 1,424) or OXC (n = 358), of whom 50 were treated with both drugs. Data on sodium level measurements were available in 1,132 on CBZ and in 289 on OXC. Hyponatremia occurred in 26% of those taking CBZ and 46% of those taking OXC. This was severe in 7% in the CBZ group and 22% in the OXC group. Hyponatremia was symptomatic in 48% and led to admissions in 3%. Age over 40 years, high serum levels of CBZ and OXC, and concomitant use of other antiepileptic drugs were the main risk factors for hyponatremia in both treatment groups. Female patients on OXC were at a higher risk than male patients of hyponatremia. The risk of hyponatremia on CBZ was significantly associated with the risk of hyponatremia on OXC within a subgroup that used both drugs consecutively.SIGNIFICANCE: Hyponatremia is a common problem in people taking CBZ or OXC. Regular ascertainment of sodium levels in those taking either drug is recommended and results should be acted on.

Milk fever (MF) is one of the most important metabolic diseases of dairy cattle, therefore, its control is very important. It is well known that parenteral application of high-dose vitamin D3 before calving can prevent MF in dairy cattle. This practice is in use in Slovenia since 1962. The mechanism of action is by activation in liver and kidneys into hormonal form calcitriol. The main role of calcitriol is activation of active Ca absorption in the intestines. Calcitriol also has an effect on bone tissue. The purpose of this study was to test the effect of a parenteral high dose of vitamin D3 on bone metabolism in dairy cattle., American Association of Bovine Practitioners Proceedings of the Annual Conference, 2011

Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) represent a diagnostic challenge. When trying to distinguish between PNES and epileptic seizures (ES), clinicians rely on the presence or absence of several clinical signs. The purpose of this review is to establish the extent to which these signs are supported by primary data from the literature. A Medline search was used to identify primary studies that used video-EEG to define the presence or absence of different clinical signs in PNES and ES. The methodological quality of the studies was assessed using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS) tool. 34 studies matched the inclusion criteria. A specific sign was considered well supported by the data from the primary literature if we were able to identify at least two controlled studies demonstrating its usefulness and if the data from other studies were supportive. There is good evidence from the literature that long duration, occurrence from apparent sleep with EEG-verified wakefulness, fluctuating course, asynchronous movements, pelvic thrusting, side-to-side head or body movement, closed eyes during the episode, ictal crying, memory recall and absence of postictal confusion are signs that distinguish PNES from ES. Postictal stertorous breathing proved to distinguish convulsive PNES from generalised tonic clonic seizures (GTCS) and should be added to the list of useful clinical signs. The final clinical diagnosis should encompass all available data and should not rely on any single sign alone.

Background: Recently published data identified bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BALP) as a good marker of bone formation in different bone diseases and osteoporosis. Two methods are available for BALP determination: one measures enzyme activity, the other its mass concentration. We compared results for BALP activity and its mass concentration in a group of 88 healthy pre- and postmenopausal women to identify which is a more useful marker for detecting early menopausal bone remodelling changes. Methods: We measured BALP activity and BALP mass concentration in relation to femoral neck (FN) and lumbar spine (LS) bone mineral density (BMD) and some other widely used bone markers: osteocalcin (OC), procollagen type I N-terminal propeptide (PINP) and serum C-terminal telopeptide cross-links of type I collagen (CTx) in serum samples from 50 premenopausal (age 45.9±4.6 years) and 38 postmenopausal (age 54.4±4.5 years) women. Results: Healthy postmenopausal women exhibited 34.2% (p

Recently identified soluble circulating osteoprotegerin (OPG), a member of tumor necrosis factor receptor family, is the osteoclastogenesis inhibitory factor (OCIF). It acts as a "decoy" receptor for receptor activator of NF-kappaB ligand (RANKL) and antagonises RANKL/RANK activity. This way OPG exerts the protective effect on bone, which is also important in hyperparathyroidism. The studies measuring OPG levels in secondary hyperparathyroidism have shown contradictory results and inconsistent conclusions. The aim of our work was to evaluate OPG levels in hemodialysis patients and their correlation with the intensity of bone turnover, bone formation and bone resorption. Serum OPG levels, bone alkaline phosphatase activity (bALP) and beta-CrossLaps (CTx) were measured in a control group (n = 20, age 30+/-6.7 years) and in two groups of dialysis patients: the first group with serum intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) concentration below 200 pg/ml (n = 28, age 62.6+/-14.8 years) and the second group with iPTH concentration above 200 pg/ml (n = 16, age 63.7+/-14.8 years). Compared to controls, serum OPG levels were 6.4-fold higher in dialysis patients. OPG levels in patients with high PTH were approximately 1.2-fold higher than in the low-PTH group. OPG correlated weakly with bALP (r = 0.277, p = 0.153), as well as with CTx (r = 0.018, p = 0.929) in the low-PTH group, and there was an insignificant negative correlation in the high-PTH group (r = -0.145, p = 0.593 and r = -0.219, p = 0.416, respectively). In conclusion, 6.4-fold increase in OPG might protect bone against intensive bone loss in hemodialysis patients, but this increase is probably not mediated by the increased bone formation; rather, it seems to be the consequence of the imbalance of bone kinetics in renal disease. The precise role of OPG in the pathogenesis of renal osteodystrophy remains unknown and establishing it requires further studies.

Introduction Alternating hemiplegia of childhood (AHC) is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder caused by de novo mutations in the ATP1A3 gene encoding the α3-subunit of the Na+/K+-ATPase transporter, expressed in cardiac and neuronal tissue. AHC is characterised by recurrent plegic attacks, dystonic posturing and seizures. Non-paroxysmal neurological manifestations and developmental delay may occur. Potentially fatal arrhythmias are associated with cardiac channelopathies but also with neurological channelopathies such as Andersen-Tawil syndrome, and postulated in sudden unexplained death in epilepsy. Autonomic dysfunction and one case of asystole have been reported in AHC, but specific cardiac abnormalities have not been defined. Methods and results Nine patients from an original UK cohort of twenty-six (adults n=6; children n=3), underwent detailed cardiac and neurological phenotyping, baseline ECG testing and ATP1A3 molecular genetic analysis. Repolarisation abnormalities and varying degrees of intraventricular conduction delay were seen in all six, ATP1A3-mutation bearing, adults. No abnormalities were detected in children. Conclusions These cardiac features raise the possibility of an arrhythmogenic potential of a neuronal channelopathy co-expressed in the heart and brain, warranting cardiac surveillance from adolescence into adulthood and further risk prediction strategies in AHC.

Rasmussen's encephalitis is a rare, chronic inflammatory disorder of unknown cause, characterised by drug-resistant focal epilepsy that may rarely present in adolescence or adulthood. We present a case of Rasmussen's encephalitis with prominent recurrent fluctuation in symptoms and well-documented fluctuating changes on MRI, adding to the spectrum of diversity of Rasmussen's encephalitis.