Biomedical subjects

Mar Carreño

Publications and source records attributed to Mar Carreño.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2007

Psychiatric disorders in temporal lobe epilepsy patients over the first year after surgical treatment.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the psychiatric disorders over a 1-year period in a group of TLE patients who underwent surgery. METHODS: Prospective, open study in a sample of 70 TLE patients. Psychiatric disorders' assessment was made before surgery, and at 1, 6 and 12 months after surgery, with the structured clinical diagnostic interview for DSM-IV axis I diagnoses (SCID). Presurgical psychiatric and neurological variables were compared with the outcomes of surgery and the course of psychiatric pathology over the follow-up through parametric and non-parametric tests. RESULTS: Depression decreased from 17.2% before surgery to 4.3% at 12 months after surgery (chi(2)=5.41, d.f.=1, p=0.071), anxiety disorders decreased from 21.5% before surgery to 14.2% at 12 months after surgery (chi(2)=10.309, d.f.=1, p<0.005). Patients with no presurgical psychiatric condition had lower postsurgical rate of psychiatric disorders than those with psychiatric history (X(2)=9.87, gl=1, p< or =0.001), with psychiatric disorders in the presurgical evaluation (X(2)=12.02, gl=1, p< or =0.001), or with both conditions (chi(2)=15.28, d.f.=1, p<0.001). No association was found between psychiatric disorders and the outcomes after surgery. No association was found between the course of psychiatric disorders before and after surgery and neurological or neurosurgical variables. CONCLUSIONS: Surgery in TLE patients does not worsen the global psychopathological status. Presurgical psychiatric morbidity was found to be related to the presence of psychiatric disorders after surgery. Specific psychiatric assessment should be made before and after surgery.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Use of levetiracetam in hospitalized patients.

PURPOSE: The objective of the study was to analyze the short-term efficacy and safety of levetiracetam (LEV) to treat repetitive seizures in hospitalized patients. METHODS: During admission to a tertiary hospital, we retrospectively identified patients with repetitive seizures who were treated for the first time with LEV during a hospital stay. LEV was considered effective if seizure cessation or >75% seizure reduction occurred in the 24 h after starting LEV (compared with the previous 48 h), requiring no further antiepileptic drug (AED) treatment. RESULTS: Thirty patients (12 men, 18 women) were included. Mean age was 59.7 years. Most frequent seizure type was focal motor in 12 (40%) of 30 patients. Most frequent etiology was stroke: nine (30%) of 30 patients. Relevant medical conditions included atrial fibrillation (three) and hepatic disease (three). Concomitant medications included oral anticoagulants (seven), corticosteroids (two), and chemotherapy (two). Four patients received LEV as the only AED. Six patients with focal SE and 20 (66.6%) patients with clusters of seizures but not in SE received LEV as add-on treatment after lack of response to first-line AEDs. Mean LEV dose during first day was 1,119 mg. Mean daily maintenance dose was 1,724 mg. LEV was effective in 24 (80%) patients, all four patients who received it as the only AED, four of six patients with focal SE, and 16 of 20 patients with clusters of seizures. Three (10%) elderly patients with seizures secondary to stroke and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) reported moderate/severe somnolence and dizziness, leading to treatment discontinuation in one. On discharge, 20 (66.7%) patients continued on LEV, nine (30%) as the only AED. CONCLUSIONS: LEV is effective and safe to treat repetitive seizures in hospitalized patients, including patients in focal SE.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Neuropsychological tests with lateralizing value in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy: reconsidering material-specific theory.

PURPOSE: To assess the ability of neuropsychological tests to determine the side of seizure onset for preoperative assessment in patients with drug-resistant temporal lobe epilepsy. METHODS: Twenty-nine consecutive patients diagnosed with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), in whom the epileptogenic focus was clearly identified and localized to either the right or left hemisphere. Patients underwent a full neuropsychological assessment as part of their pre-surgical investigation, including the Boston Naming Test (BNT) and a variety of Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third Edition (WAIS-III) and Wechsler Memory Scale-Third Edition (WMS-III) subtests. Two multivariate analyses of variance were carried out to assess differences on memory and language measures between groups according to side of epileptogenic focus. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed to find the sets of tests that best predicted the side of seizure onset (determined by EEG and MRI). RESULTS: Memory multivariate analysis of variance failed to show significant differences between the right- and left-sided groups. Among language measures, only the BNT revealed significant differences between the groups. The neuropsychological measures that best predicted the side of seizure onset were the BNT and Visual Reproduction II. CONCLUSIONS: Language measures predict the side of seizure focus better than memory measures. The results of this study in a sample of drug-resistant temporal lobe epilepsy patients challenge the memory material-specific theory for the side of seizure focus.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

A semiological classification of status epilepticus.

The classification of status epilepticus (SE) has been a subject of discussion for many years, yet no satisfactory agreement has been reached. Due to their complexity, status episodes often defy classification according to the current international classification scheme. The semiological seizure classification (SSC) has been in use in several epilepsy centers for more than a decade, and has proven to be a valid approach to the classification of epileptic seizures. Based on the detailed analysis of more than 100 episodes of SE documented with video-EEG recordings, the authors now present a proposal for a semiological classification of status epilepticus (SCSE). The SCSE reflects the assumption implied by all modern definitions of SE that "there are as many types of status as there are types of seizures" and relies on the same principles as the SSC, focusing on the main clinical manifestations and the evolution of the status episode. The clinical manifestations of SE are subdivided into semiological components and classified along three axes: the type of brain function predominantly compromised by the seizure activity, the body part involved, and the evolution over time. Each axis contains several subcategories, so that many different levels of accuracy are possible. The SCSE, just like the SSC, is meant to be part of a comprehensive epilepsy classification which classifies as independent variables (epileptogenic zone, ictal semiology, etiology, related medical conditions) the main features of the patient's epilepsy, allowing for each variable maximum flexibility.

Autonomic Nervous System↗

PubMed2004

Hemispheric malformations of cortical development.

The term hemispheric malformations of cortical development (MCDs) is used in this article to represent congenital malformations that predominantly or exclusively involve complete or substantial portion of one cerebral hemisphere. Hemispheric MCDs usually present during early childhood with intractable epilepsy, cognitive delay, and contralateral hemiparesis. Early identification and selection of children who may be candidates for epilepsy surgery are important during diagnostic evaluation of hemispheric MCD. Surgical intervention at an appropriate time, whenever possible, offers the best chance for seizure freedom and improved cognitive outcome. In addition, making an accurate genetic diagnosis is imperative to offer genetic testing and counseling to the family. In this article, the authors discuss the developmental and genetic mechanisms, pathologic features, diagnosis, and treatment of hemispheric MCD that are substrates of catastrophic childhood epilepsy amenable to surgical treatment.

Brain Diseases↗

PubMed2003

Continuous giggling and autistic disorder associated with hypothalamic hamartoma.

We present the case of a child affected since early infancy from recurring episodes of giggling mixed with stereotypical behaviours, mingled with head drops, and eventually with falls, in the context of an autistic disorder. Scalp video-EEG recordings revealed an epileptic encephalopathy with generalized slow spike-and-wave complexes alternating with electrodecremental periods, which generally corresponded to the onset of the aforementioned clinical sequences. A resection of a hypothalamic hamartoma was achieved at the age of two. Since then, after 22 months of follow-up, the child is totally free from the giggling and the drops, and the autistic behaviour significantly improved during the second year of follow-up. This case illustrates the difficulties to recognize some subtle ictal manifestations during infancy and childhood, and encourages the early surgical treatment of hypothalamic hamartomas when associated with epileptic encephalopathy and when technically possible.

Autistic Disorder↗