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Biomedical subjects

E Urbain

Publications and source records attributed to E Urbain.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Efficacy and safety of levetiracetam in clinical practice: results of the SKATE trial from Belgium and The Netherlands.

OBJECTIVE: Aim of the study was to assess the efficacy and safety of levetiracetam as add-on treatment in patients with partial-onset epilepsy in clinical practice. METHODS: In this observational, multi-centre study patients were treated with levetiracetam for 16 weeks. From a starting dose of 1000 mg/day, dose levels were adjusted at 2-weekly intervals in 1000-mg steps, to a maximum of 3000 mg/day, based on seizure control and tolerance. Analysis of efficacy was based on reduction in seizure frequency relative to baseline, 50% and 100% responder rates (for partial seizures and all seizure types combined) and percentage of patients using levetiracetam at the end of the study. Analysis of safety was based on occurrence of adverse events. RESULTS: The present analysis concerns the results of patients recruited in Belgium and The Netherlands. Of the 251 patients included in the study, 86.9% completed 16 weeks of treatment. Reduction in frequency of partial-onset seizures was 62.2%, with 19.3% of the patients becoming seizure free and 56.6% having a reduction in seizure frequency of > or = 50%. These percentages were more or less the same when calculated for all seizure types combined. Tolerance of levetiracetam treatment was good, with most adverse events being only mild to moderate in severity, and only 10.0% of the adverse events leading to discontinuation from the study. Asthenia, somnolence, dizziness and headache were the most frequently reported adverse events. CONCLUSION: Levetiracetam is effective and safe as add-on treatment for partial-onset seizures in clinical practice.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Diagnosis and endovascular treatment of midbasilar dissecting aneurysm.

The authors present the case of a patient with a midbasilar dissecting aneurysm successfully treated by staged bilateral endovascular occlusion of the vertebral artery. The clinical and the radiological features are presented with references to the literature, and the choice of endovascular rather than neurosurgical treatment is discussed in light to our previously reported experience about the treatment of unclippable vertebrobasilar aneurysms.

Aortic Dissection↗
PubMed1981

Two cases of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy after renal transplantation.

Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) occurred in two patients after kidney transplantation. Less than 2 years after such a transplantation associated with immunosuppressive chemotherapy a 54-year-old male developed polyneuropathy then clinical diffuse alteration of the central nervous system. He died three months later with the suspicion of hypertensive encephalopathy due to progressive renal failure. A 45-year-old female had a kidney transplantation first rapidly complicated by Listeria monocytogenes meningoencephalitis. She was cured from this disease and had a satisfactory social rehabilitation during two years. Afterwards, she suffered various neurological troubles, including epilepsy, that were attributed to combined renal failure and developing hydrocephalus. One year after the onset of these neurological symptoms, the grafted kidney was removed and chemotherapy was discontinued. She died three months later. Both patients had typical PML with eosinophilic intranuclear inclusions in presumptive oligodendroglial cells. By electron microscopy, performed on formalin fixed brain tissue, round particles (40-50 nm) could be recognized in some glial cell nuclei. These two cases are confronted with the four published observations of PML following organ transplantation.

Astrocytes↗
PubMed1978

[Disorders of heat and water regulation. Proliferative reticulo granulomatous process of hypothalamic origin (author's transl)].

The authors report the anatomical and clinical findings in a 65 year old patient with a lesion in the hypothalamus presenting mainly as disorders in heat and water regulation. Disorders in heat regulation dominated the clinical picture, in relation to a poikilothermia. Conservation of reactivity to pyrogenic bacteria is debatable. Inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone (ISADH) by a direct effect on the supraoptico-hypophyseal aixs can account for the water and electrolyte disturbances. The anatomical lesions, due to hypothalamic changes, can be included in the circumscribed proliferative reticuloses of the CNS having a pseudo-inflammatory histological appearance.

Aged↗
PubMed1978

[Crossed aphasia in a right-handed patient: a report on one case (author's transl)].

The authors report on a 37 year old right-handed patient with a right rolando-parietal infarct which was manifest clinically by not only sensory-motor disorders of the left side of the body, but more especially by an expression aphasia. This observation fulfills the criteria for defining the exceptional case of crossed aphasia in a right-handed patient: aphasic destruction of language engendered by a right unilateral lesion in such a patient, without a previous history of a cerebral lesion or family history of left-handedness. Comparing the aphasic signs in this patient with the rare cases reported in the published literature shows that there is a particular pathognomonic profile, close to the type of aphasic disorganization seen in children and left-handed adults. The authors review the neuropsychopathogenic explanations for this crossed aphasia of right-handed patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

[Statistical approach to psychosomatic headaches].

Three groups of patients were compared statistically: 79 with the diagnosis psychosomatic headache' (in the strict sense of the term), 450 others whose headache was part of another disorder (termed symptomatic headache'), and 850 patients free from headache symptoms. The following characteristics were found for the group with psychosomatic headache: More psychosomatic diseases in the family, usually the eldest in birth rank, usually living in towns, married, two children, intellectual level above average, overweight, ego-strength with compulsive features, tendency towards oral abuse of different kinds, few other psychosomatic complaints (contrary to the group with symptomatic headache). In the discussion the Authors try to demonstrate the defensive function of this selective somatisation.

Belgium↗
PubMed1975

[Statistical study in psychosomatic headache (author's transl)].

Three groups of patients were compared statistically: 79 with the diagnosis "psychosomatic headache" (in the strict sense of the term), 450 others whose headache was part of another disorder (termed "symptomatic headache"), and 850 patients free from headache symptoms. The following characteristics were found for the group with psychosomatic headache: More psychosomatic diseases in the family, usually the eldest in birth rank, usually living in towns, married, two children, intellectual level about average, overweight, ego-strength with compulsive features, tendency towards oral abuse of different kinds, few other psychosomatic complaints (contrary to the group with symptomatic headache). In the discussion the authors try to demonstrate the defensive function of this selective somatisation.

Age Factors↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy after renal transplantation. Report of two cases].

Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) occurred in two patients after kidney transplantation. Two years after such a transplantation associated with immunosuppressive chemotherapy, a 54-year-old male developed polyneuropathy, diffuse alterations of the central nervous system and he died with the suspicion of hypertensive encephalopathy due to progressive renal failure. A 45-year-old female had kidney transplantation first complicated by Listeria monocytogenes meningoencephalitis. She was cured from this disease and had a satisfactory social rehabilitation for two years. Afterwards, she suffered from various neurological ailments, including epilepsy, that were attributed to combined renal failure and developing hydrocephalus. One year after the onset of these neurological symptoms, the grafted kidney was removed and chemotherapy was discontinued but she died a few weeks later. Both patients had typical PML. By electron microscopy, performed on formalin fixed brain tissue, intranuclear round particles (40-50 nm) could be recognized in the first case only. These two cases are confronted with the six published observations of PML following organ transplantation. The frequency of PML has been estimated at 1 for 5000 kidney transplantation, 1 for 2000 chronic lymphoid leukemia and 1 for 10,000 Hodgkin's disease.

Brain↗