Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

Cortex 2018 Nov 17;113:1-14. Epub 2018 Nov 17.

Neuroscience and Aphasia Research Unit, Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Manchester, UK; MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, UK. Electronic address:

In neurosurgery there are several situations that require transgression of the temporal cortex. For example, a subset of patients with temporal lobe epilepsy require surgical resection (most typically, en-bloc anterior temporal lobectomy). This procedure is the gold standard to alleviate seizures but is associated with chronic cognitive deficits. Read More

Clin Neurophysiol 2018 Nov 26;130(1):128-137. Epub 2018 Nov 26.

Epilepsy Centre, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Germany. Electronic address:

Objective: High frequency oscillations (HFO) between 80-500 Hz are markers of epileptic areas in intracranial and maybe also scalp EEG. We investigate simultaneous recordings of scalp and intracranial EEG and hypothesize that scalp HFOs provide important additional clinical information in the presurgical setting.

Methods: Spikes and HFOs were visually identified in all intracranial scalp EEG channels. Read More

Clin Neurophysiol 2018 Nov 26;130(1):122-127. Epub 2018 Nov 26.

Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, USA.

Objective: To evaluate EEG abnormalities, particularly development of temporal intermittent rhythmic delta activity (TIRDA) after laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT) and assess the role of further surgery after LITT.

Methods: We retrospectively identified consecutive cases of LITT for the prevalence of post-operative TIRDA. We assessed baseline demographics, clinical variables including age of seizure onset, age at surgery, pre-operative and post-operative EEG changes. Read More

Epilepsy Behav 2018 Dec 3;90:93-98. Epub 2018 Dec 3.

IRCCS "NEUROMED", Pozzilli, IS, Italy; Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Italy.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to report long-term seizure outcome in patients who underwent frontal lobe epilepsy (FLE) surgery.

Method: This retrospective study included 44 consecutive subjects who underwent resective surgery for intractable FLE at IRCCS NEUROMED (period 2001-2014), followed up for at least 2 years (mean: 8.7 years). Read More

Atherosclerosis 2018 Nov 23;280:147-154. Epub 2018 Nov 23.

Department of Anesthesiology, Shuan Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, New Taipei City, Taiwan; Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Anesthesiology, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Health Policy Research Center, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; School of Chinese Medicine, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan. Electronic address:

Background And Aims: The risk of stroke in epileptic patients and the impact of epilepsy history on stroke patients' outcome have not been studied completely. Our purpose is to evaluate whether patients with epilepsy have increased risk of stroke or post-stroke mortality.

Methods: In Study I, we conducted a retrospective cohort study of 6746 patients with newly diagnosed epilepsy and 26,984 persons without epilepsy between 2000 and 2008, in the database of National Health Insurance in Taiwan. Read More

Neurotherapeutics 2018 Dec 5. Epub 2018 Dec 5.

Department of Clinical and Experimental Epilepsy, UCL Institute of Neurology, 33 Queen Square, London, WC1E 6BT, UK.

Laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT) is an alternative to open surgery for drug-resistant focal mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE). Studies suggest maximal ablation of the mesial hippocampal head and amygdalohippocampal complex (AHC) improves seizure freedom rates while better neuropsychological outcomes are associated with sparing of the parahippocampal gyrus (PHG). Optimal trajectories avoid sulci and CSF cavities and maximize distance from vasculature. Read More

JAMA Neurol 2018 Dec 3. Epub 2018 Dec 3.

Department of Neurosurgery, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.

Importance: Seizures recur in as many as half of patients who undergo surgery for drug-resistant temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). Understanding why TLE is resistant to surgery in some patients may reveal insights into epileptogenic networks and direct new therapies to improve outcomes.

Objective: To characterize features of surgically refractory TLE. Read More

Neurol India 2018 Nov-Dec;66(6):1655-1666

Department of Neurology, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences, Bangalore, Karnataka, India.

Aim: Surgery for drug resistant epilepsy (DRE) with focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) often requires multiple non-invasive as well as invasive pre-surgical evaluations and innovative surgical strategies. There is limited data regarding surgical management of people with FCD as the underlying substrate for DRE among the low and middle-income countries (LAMIC) including India.

Methodology: The presurgical evaluation, surgical strategy and outcome of 52 people who underwent resective surgery for DRE with FCD between January 2008 and December 2016 were analyzed. Read More

Rev Prat 2017 12;67(10):1111-1115

Service de neurochirurgie, centre hospitalier Sainte-Anne, université Paris-Descartes Paris, France.

Epilepsy surgery. Epilepsy surgery is indicated for adults or children with partial, drug-resistant and disabling epilepsy. It has developed over the last few decades through better identification of candidates, advances in imaging and surgical techniques. Read More

Epilepsia 2018 Dec 22;59(12):2272-2283. Epub 2018 Nov 22.

Department of Neurology, Christian-Doppler-Klinik, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria.

Objective: The European Union-funded E-PILEPSY network (now continuing within the European Reference Network for rare and complex epilepsies [EpiCARE]) aims to harmonize and optimize presurgical diagnostic procedures by creating and implementing evidence-based guidelines across Europe. The present study evaluates the current evidence on the diagnostic accuracy of long-term video-electroencephalographic monitoring (LTM) in identifying the epileptogenic zone in epilepsy surgery candidates.

Methods: MEDLINE, Embase, CENTRAL, and ClinicalTrials. Read More

J Neurosurg 2018 Oct 1:1-9. Epub 2018 Oct 1.

OBJECTIVEHow the brain supports intermediate-term preservation of memory in patients who have undergone unilateral medial temporal lobe resection (MTLR) has not yet been demonstrated. To understand the neural basis of episodic memory in the intermediate term after surgery for temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), the authors investigated the relationship between the activation of the hippocampus (HIP) during successful memory encoding and individual memory capacity in patients who had undergone MTLR. They also compared hippocampal activation with other parameters, including structural volumes of the HIP, duration of illness, and age at seizure onset. Read More

Front Neurol 2018 13;9:889. Epub 2018 Nov 13.

Center of Epilepsy, Center for Brain Disorders Research, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.

We proposed an improved automated high frequency oscillations (HFOs) detector that could not only be applied to various intracranial electrodes, but also automatically remove false HFOs caused by high-pass filtering. We proposed a continuous resection ratio of high order HFO channels and compared this ratio with each patient's post-surgical outcome, to determine the quantitative threshold of HFO distribution to delineate the epileptogenic zone (EZ). We enrolled a total of 43 patients diagnosed with refractory epilepsy. Read More

Pediatr Neurol 2018 Oct 24. Epub 2018 Oct 24.

Division of Pediatric Neurology, Epilepsy Research Institute, Severance Children's Hospital, Department of Pediatrics, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Electronic address:

Objective: Low-grade epilepsy-associated tumors (LEATs) are associated with childhood seizures that are typically drug-resistant, necessitating surgical interventions. In this study, we aimed to investigate the efficacy of surgical intervention in children with LEATs and to identify factors associated with seizure and cognitive outcomes.

Methods: We reviewed 58 children less than 18 years of age who underwent epilepsy surgery due to histopathologically confirmed LEATs and had a minimum postoperative follow-up duration of 24 months. Read More

Epilepsy Res 2018 Oct 28;149:44-52. Epub 2018 Oct 28.

Department of Neurology, Division of Child Neurology, New York-Presbyterian Hospital/ Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, 180 Fort Washington Avenue, New York, New York, USA. Electronic address:

Aims: We aimed to classify ictal onset patterns (IOPs) in pediatric patients undergoing intracranial electroencephalography (IEEG) to guide surgery for refractory epilepsy. We aimed to determine if morphology of IOPs can predict surgical outcome.

Materials And Methods: We performed a retrospective review of pediatric patients who underwent epilepsy surgery guided by subdural IEEG from 2007 to 2016. Read More

J Vis Exp 2018 Nov 8(141). Epub 2018 Nov 8.

Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Pharmacology, Neuroscience Center, University of Ferrara and National Institute of Neuroscience.

Microdialysis is a well-established neuroscience technique that correlates the changes of neurologically active substances diffusing into the brain interstitial space with the behavior and/or with the specific outcome of a pathology (e.g., seizures for epilepsy). Read More

Pediatr Neurol 2018 Nov 6;88:40-47. Epub 2018 Sep 6.

Department of Neurosurgery, Haidian Hospital, Haidian District of Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China.

Background: Early cerebral injury has a close relationship with epilepsy and focal cortical dysplasia Ⅲd. We investigated children with focal cortical dysplasia Ⅲd who underwent surgery for epilepsy.

Methods: We selected 49 patients from among 260 pediatric patients who had undergone epilepsy surgery, analyzing their clinical materials and pathology data. Read More

Clin Neurophysiol 2018 Nov 14;130(1):20-24. Epub 2018 Nov 14.

Medical University of Vienna, Department of Pediatrics and Adolescence Medicine, Epilepsy Monitoring Unit, Währinger Gürtel 18-20, 1090 Vienna, Austria. Electronic address:

Objective: To evaluate prospectively the informative/prognostic value of epileptic discharges in the post-resection ECoGs of children with drug-resistant epilepsies and Focal Cortical Dysplasia type II (FCD-II).

Methods: Included were consecutive patients with focal epilepsies and suspected FCD-II who were planned for single-stage epilepsy surgery based on non-invasive presurgical evaluation results. Intraoperative ECoGs were recorded using a 32-channel system with strip- and/or grid-electrodes. Read More

Arch Endocrinol Metab 2018 Oct;62(5):560-565

Unidad de Endocrinología Pediátrica y Crecimiento, Pediatría, Hospital Clínico Universitario y Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, IDIS, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

Congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI) is a heterogenous disease caused by insulin secretion regulatory defects, being ABCC8/KCNJ11 the most commonly affected genes. Therapeutic options include diazoxide, somatostatin analogues and surgery, which is curative in focal CHI. We report the case of two siblings (born two years apart) that presented themselves with hypoketotic hyperinsulinemic persistent hypoglycemias during neonatal period. Read More

Epilepsia 2018 Nov 13. Epub 2018 Nov 13.

Epileptology Department, National Institute of Health and Medical Research, Institute of System Neuroscience, Timone Hospital, Public Assistance Hospitals of Marseille, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France.

Objective: In this study, we seek to analyze the determinants of the intracranial electroencephalography seizure onset pattern (SOP) and the impact of the SOP in predicting postsurgical seizure outcome.

Methods: To this end, we analyzed 820 seizures from 252 consecutive patients explored by stereo-electroencephalography (total of 2148 electrodes), including various forms of focal refractory epilepsies. We used a reproducible method combining visual and time-frequency analyses. Read More

Epilepsy Behav 2018 Nov 9. Epub 2018 Nov 9.

Epilepsy Center, Neurological Clinic, University Hospital Erlangen, Germany.

Objective: Intraoperative electrocorticography (iopECoG) can contribute to delineate the resection borders of the anticipated epileptogenic zone in epilepsy surgery. However, it has several caveats that should be considered to avoid incorrect interpretation during intraoperative monitoring.

Methods: The literature on iopECoG application was reviewed, and pros and cons as well as obstacles to this technique were analyzed. Read More

Seizure 2018 Dec 31;63:62-67. Epub 2018 Oct 31.

University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States.

Purpose: Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) may be an alternative to anterior temporal lobectomy (ATL) for mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE). Visual field defects (VFD) occur in 9-100% of patients following open surgery for MTLE. Postoperative VFD after minimally invasive versus open surgery may differ. Read More

Neurosurgery 2018 Nov 8. Epub 2018 Nov 8.

Electroencephalography Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.

Background: Minimally invasive therapies for drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) have been advocated. A study of convection-enhanced delivery (CED) of muscimol, a GABAA receptor agonist, was previously completed in non-human primates.

Objective: To investigate the safety and anti-epileptic effects of intracerebral muscimol infusion into the epileptic focus of patients with DRE. Read More

World Neurosurg 2018 Nov 4. Epub 2018 Nov 4.

Department of Neurosurgery, Xiangyang No. 1 People's Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, Xiangyang, China. Electronic address:

Objective: To date, no standard surgical procedure has been proven effective for intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), particularly deep hematomas. This retrospective study evaluated the effectiveness and safety of endoscopic surgery, minimally invasive puncture and drainage, and craniotomy for treating moderate basal ganglia ICH.

Methods: Patients with basal ganglia ICH (N = 177) were divided into 3 groups based on therapeutic intervention as follows: endoscopic surgery group (n = 61), minimally invasive puncture and drainage group (n = 60), and craniotomy group (n = 56). Read More

Surg Neurol Int 2018 8;9:203. Epub 2018 Oct 8.

Department of Neurosurgery, Auhui Province, Anhui Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China.

Background: Refractory epilepsy is a common and troublesome neurosurgical disease. This study is designed to compare seizure control and degrees in intellectual outcome in children with refractory epilepsy after surgical treatment.

Methods: 20 children with refractory epilepsy were treated with tailored epilepsy surgery or vagus nerve stimulation (VNS). Read More

Epilepsy Res 2018 Dec 19;148:48-54. Epub 2018 Sep 19.

Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, Texas Children's Hospital and Department of Neurosurgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.

Objective: Incomplete resection of neocortical epileptogenic foci correlates with failed epilepsy surgery in children. We often treat patients with neocortical epilepsy with a staged approach using invasive monitoring to localize the focus, resect the seizure onset zone, and, in select cases, post-resection invasive monitoring (PRM). We report the technique and the outcomes of children treated with staged surgery including PRM. Read More

Epilepsy Behav 2018 Dec 26;89:37-41. Epub 2018 Oct 26.

Stanford Neurosurgery, 213 Quarry Road, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA. Electronic address:

Background: Laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT) is a minimally invasive alternative with less cognitive risks compared with traditional surgery for focal drug-resistant epilepsy.

Objective: We describe seizure outcomes and complications after LITT in our cohort with intractable mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE).

Material And Methods: We prospectively tracked Stanford's MTLE cases treated with LITT from October 2014 to October 2017. Read More

Epilepsy Behav 2018 Dec 26;89:15-22. Epub 2018 Oct 26.

Department of Pediatric Psychology and Social Work, University Medical Center Utrecht, PO Box 85090, 3508 AB Utrecht, the Netherlands. Electronic address:

Objectives: The objective of this study was to explore whether parents experience problems in their own psychological wellbeing and their family functioning two to four years after their child's epilepsy surgery and whether these problems are associated with epilepsy variables, demographic and cognitive variables, and parent-observed behavior problems of the child.

Methods: Of the 65 approached families, parents of 31 children participated by completing the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), the Family Questionnaire, and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). High scores indicating clinically relevant problems were reported and called 'problem scores'. Read More

Ital J Pediatr 2018 Nov 1;44(1):115. Epub 2018 Nov 1.

Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, Medicine & Surgery Department, Neuroscience Division, University of Parma, Parma, Italy.

Neonatal seizures are the most common neurological event in newborns, showing higher prevalence in preterm than in full-term infants. In the majority of cases they represent acute symptomatic phenomena, the main etiologies being intraventricular haemorrhage, hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, central nervous system infections and transient metabolic derangements.Current definition of neonatal seizures requires detection of paroxysmal EEG-changes, and in preterm newborns the incidence of electrographic-only seizures seems to be particularly high, further stressing the crucial role of electroencephalogram monitoring in this population. Read More

Epileptic Disord 2018 Oct;20(5):346-363

Pediatric Neurosurgery, Rothschild Foundation Hospital, Paris.

Occipital epilepsy is the least common among surgical series because: (1) the location makes it hard to asses by EEG; (2) the seizure semiology often reflects propagation; and (3) surgery entails a high risk of neurological deficits. In children, subjective symptoms are harder to assess, adding to the difficulty of a proper diagnosis. We aimed to determine electroclinical characteristics of occipital lobe epilepsy in a paediatric population by reviewing 20 children between one and 16 years, who had undergone intracranial recordings with depth electrodes. Read More

Epilepsia 2018 Dec 30;59(12):2305-2317. Epub 2018 Oct 30.

Department of Neurology, Christian Doppler Medical Center, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria.

Objective: The European Union-funded E-PILEPSY project was launched to develop guidelines and recommendations for epilepsy surgery. In this systematic review, we aimed to assess the diagnostic accuracy of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), Wada test, magnetoencephalography (MEG), and functional transcranial Doppler sonography (fTCD) for memory and language decline after surgery.

Methods: The literature search was conducted using PubMed, Embase, and CENTRAL. Read More

Epilepsia 2018 Dec 30;59(12):2284-2295. Epub 2018 Oct 30.

Department of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Texas Children's Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to investigate the outcomes of epilepsy surgery targeting the subcentimeter-sized resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) epileptogenic onset zone (EZ) in hypothalamic hamartoma (HH).

Methods: Fifty-one children with HH-related intractable epilepsy received anatomical MRI-guided stereotactic laser ablation (SLA) procedures. Fifteen of these children were control subjects (CS) not guided by rs-fMRI. Read More

Epileptic Disord 2018 Oct;20(5):364-373

Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, O'Brien Institute for Public Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta.

Patient satisfaction with therapeutic interventions is an important outcome of care. Although generic measures of patient satisfaction exist, there is no validated scale for measuring patient satisfaction with epilepsy surgery. We aimed to systematically obtain patient-identified factors related to satisfaction with epilepsy surgery as a means of informing clinicians about the ways that patients evaluate outcomes of their treatment and as a conceptual basis for the future development of epilepsy surgery patient satisfaction scales. Read More

Seizure 2018 Nov 29;62:116-123. Epub 2018 Sep 29.

University of Bonn, Department of Epileptology, Germany.

Purpose: Epilepsy surgery can be a successful treatment option for temporal lobe epilepsy but there are concerns about accelerated memory decline in long-term follow-up.

Method: 161 adult operated (77 right, 84 left temporal resections) versus a heterogeneous group of 208 non-operated patients with focal epilepsies were consecutively recruited and re-evaluated focusing on memory, executive functions, and vocational outcome after follow-up intervals of >5 years (5-22 years, mean 8 ± 3 years).

Results: Major losses in the operated group manifest early, at one-year follow-up. Read More

PLoS One 2018 19;13(10):e0206095. Epub 2018 Oct 19.

Department of Neurosurgery, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.

Objectives: To investigate the long-term postoperative outcomes and predictive factors associated with poor surgical outcomes in mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE).

Materials And Methods: We enrolled patients with MTLE who underwent resective surgery at single university-affiliated hospital. Surgical outcomes were determined using a modified Engel classification at the 2nd and 5th years after surgery and the last time of follow-up. Read More

Neurosurgery 2018 Oct 17. Epub 2018 Oct 17.

Pediatric Surgery Working Group, Society of Junior Doctors, Athens, Greece.

Background: Pediatric epilepsy surgery is a treatment modality appropriate for select patients with debilitating medication-resistant seizures. Previous publications have studied seizure freedom as the main outcome of epilepsy surgery. However, there has been no systematic assessment of the postoperative life quality for these children. Read More

Neuroimage 2019 Jan 10;184:981-992. Epub 2018 Oct 10.

Department of Clinical and Experimental Epilepsy, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London, United Kingdom; MRI Unit, Epilepsy Society, Chalfont St Peter, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom. Electronic address:

Objectives: Simultaneous intracranial EEG and functional MRI (icEEG-fMRI) can be used to map the haemodynamic (BOLD) changes associated with the generation of IEDs. Unlike scalp EEG-fMRI, in most patients who undergo icEEG-fMRI, IEDs recorded intracranially are numerous and show variability in terms of field amplitude and morphology. Therefore, visual marking can be highly subjective and time consuming. Read More

J Clin Neurosci 2018 Oct 9. Epub 2018 Oct 9.

Department of Neurosurgery, Westmead Hospital, Hawkesbury Road, Westmead, Sydney 2145, Australia.

Introduction: Seizures are an important cause of morbidity in patients with low grade gliomas with approximately 40% of cases drug resistant. The pathogenesis is quite complex and poorly understood. The treatment aims vary between almost purely epilepsy considerations and those that are primarily oncologic. Read More

Seizure 2018 Nov 1;62:74-78. Epub 2018 Oct 1.

Department of Neurology, Hôpital Erasme, Brussels, Belgium. Electronic address:

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. Read More

Seizure 2018 Nov 26;62:66-73. Epub 2018 Sep 26.

Dept. of Epileptology, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Germany; Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Germany.

Purpose: Focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) is the major cause of focal intractable epilepsy in childhood. Here we analyze the factors influencing the success of surgical treatment in a large cohort of children with histologically ascertained FCD.

Method: A retrospective study of the effects of FCD type, surgical intervention, and age at surgery in a pediatric cohort. Read More

Asian J Neurosurg 2018 Jul-Sep;13(3):742-748

Department of Neurosurgery, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.

Background: Nonmissile anterior skull-base penetrating brain injuries (NASBPBIs) have specific characteristic features that are different from missile injuries. Our study presents our experiences on the characteristic features as well as management of NASBPBI.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 22 consecutive patients with NASBPBI managed at our institute during a 13-year period. Read More

Clin Neurophysiol 2018 Nov 24;129(11):2403-2410. Epub 2018 Sep 24.

Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Danish Epilepsy Centre, Visby Allé 5, 4293 Dianalund, Denmark; Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Noerrebrogade 44, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark. Electronic address:

Objective: To evaluate the accuracy of automated EEG source imaging (ESI) in localizing epileptogenic zone.

Methods: Long-term EEG, recorded with the standard 25-electrode array of the IFCN, from 41 consecutive patients with focal epilepsy who underwent resective surgery, were analyzed blinded to the surgical outcome. The automated analysis comprised spike-detection, clustering and source imaging at the half-rising time and at the peak of each spike-cluster, using individual head-models with six tissue-layers and a distributed source model (sLORETA). Read More

World Neurosurg 2018 Sep 20. Epub 2018 Sep 20.

Department of Neurologic Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida, USA. Electronic address:

Introduction: Magnetic resonance-guided laser interstitial thermal therapy (MRgLITT) and stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) are 2 emerging minimally invasive procedures being increasingly used for surgical intervention in cases of medically intractable temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). To date, no comparative analyses of these 2 procedures have been made. In the current study, we synthesized pooled data from existing studies in an attempt to present a systematic review and meta-analysis of seizure and clinical outcomes of the 2 procedures in patients with TLE. Read More

Epilepsy Behav 2018 Nov 18;88S:33-38. Epub 2018 Sep 18.

University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, United States.

For drug-resistant epilepsy, nonpharmacologic treatments should be considered early rather than late. Of the nondrug treatments, only resective surgery can be curative. Neurostimulation is palliative, i. Read More

Sci Rep 2018 Sep 13;8(1):13782. Epub 2018 Sep 13.

Department of Neurology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China.

This study aimed to investigate the impact of timing interval to start AED withdraw (TIW) after surgery on the seizure outcome in non-neoplastic drug resistant epilepsy (DRE). TIW were divided into three groups (respectively,<1 year, 1-<2 years, and ≥2 years). The seizure outcome at the different time points after starting AED withdrawal were compared among three groups. Read More

Epilepsy Behav 2018 Nov 10;88:25-32. Epub 2018 Sep 10.

Dept. of Epileptology, University of Bonn Medical Center, Sigmund-Freud-Str. 25, 53105 Bonn, Germany.

Objective: The objective of the study was to evaluate cognitive and epilepsy-related features in 166 surgically treated patients with epilepsy with long-term epilepsy-associated tumors (LEATs) located in the temporal lobe.

Method: Pre- and postsurgical cognitive as well as the one-year seizure outcome of adult patients with histopathologically confirmed LEATs (28 grade-I dysembryoplastic neuroepithelial tumors (DNET), 95 grade-I gangliogliomas (GG), 24 grade-I pilocytic astrocytomas (PA), 9 grade-II pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma (PXA), 10 grade-II diffuse astrocytoma (DA)) who underwent epilepsy surgery in Bonn/Germany between 1988 and 2012 were evaluated.

Results: At baseline, tumor groups differed in regard to age at epilepsy onset and location within the temporal lobe. Read More

J Neurol 2018 Nov 8;265(11):2666-2671. Epub 2018 Sep 8.

Department of Neurology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1468 Madison Ave, Annenberg 301B, New York, NY, 10029, USA.

Background: International trials suggest benefit of revascularization surgery (RS) for moyamoya disease (MMD). However, nationally representative US data on demographics and outcomes after RS in MMD are lacking.

Aims: To estimate causes and rates of readmission after RS for MMD. Read More

World Neurosurg 2018 Dec 6;120:e984-e990. Epub 2018 Sep 6.

Department of Neurosurgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China. Electronic address:

Objective: To determine whether extended lesionectomy is needed for patients with cerebral cavernous malformations presenting with epilepsy as compared with lesionectomy.

Methods: A literature search of PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Clinical Trials and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials was performed for pertinent English-language studies from 1967 to 2017. Eligible studies were selected according to uniform inclusion and exclusion criteria. Read More

Pediatrics 2018 Oct 7;142(4). Epub 2018 Sep 7.

Epilepsy Research Institute, College of Medicine,

Objective: We aimed to evaluate the long-term outcome of resective epilepsy surgery in patients with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS).

Methods: We reviewed the case reports of 90 patients with LGS who had undergone resective surgery between 2003 and 2014 at the Severance Children's Hospital and managed them for a minimum period of 2 years.

Results: At the time of surgery, the patients were between 3. Read More

World Neurosurg 2019 Jan 3;121:e32-e38. Epub 2018 Sep 3.

Department of Functional Neurosurgery, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China; Beijing Institute of Functional Neurosurgery, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.

Objective: We aimed to investigate the possible predictive factors and longitudinal change in long-term surgical outcome after refractory frontal lobe epilepsy surgery.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 82 patients who underwent frontal lobe resection. Invasive monitoring was performed in 43 patients. Read More

Epilepsia Open 2018 Sep 6;3(3):399-408. Epub 2018 Aug 6.

Department of Neurosurgery and Brain Repair Morsani College of Medicine University of South Florida Tampa Florida U.S.A.

Objective: This study reports neuropsychological outcomes based on preoperative Wada testing in patients with drug-resistant mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (mTLE).

Methods: Patient records were retrospectively reviewed as part of a larger database. Patients with a diagnosis of TLE based on seizure semiology and long-term surface video-electroencephalography (EEG) were identified. Read More