View clinical trials related to Epilepsy.
Filter by:Epilepsy is frequently associated with cognitive and attentional disorders. Several studies have pointed out that there are modifications of brain activity in resting state during peri-ictal period in EEG and functional MRI. However, to date, no study has assessed the changes in attentional control after a seizure. The investigators hypothesize that a localized discharge is associated with a disorganization of the networks engaged in attentional control. In this regard, the investigators propose a prospective longitudinal study assessing the changes in attentional control after a focal seizure.
The goal of this observational study is to learn about the recurrence and development of epilepsy in children hospitalized with their first febrile seizures. The main questions it aims to answer are: - What is the risk of recurrence after the first febrile seizure and what are the risk factors for recurrent febrile seizures in Vietnamese children? - What is the risk of developing epilepsy later in life and what are the risk factors for developing epilepsy in Vietnamese children who have had febrile seizures?
The purpose of this study is to determine whether BHV-7000 is effective in the treatment of idiopathic generalized epilepsy with generalized tonic-clonic seizures and includes an additional open-label extension (OLE) phase.
The idiopathic generalized epilepsies (IGEs) have historically included the syndromes childhood absence epilepsy (CAE), juvenile absence epilepsy (JAE), juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME), and epilepsy with generalized tonic-clonic seizures alone (GTCA). Recognition of the IGEs is important for clinical care, as it informs diagnosis, prevents unnecessary investigation, allows optimal selection of anti-seizure medications (ASMs), and provides prognostic guidance. According to the new ILAE definition in 2022, the study aims to describe the clinical features, electroencephalographic, imaging findings and long-term prognosis.
Seizure is one of the most common symptoms in autoimmune encephalitis with neuronal surface-mediated antibodies. Interestingly, some patients may exhibit new-onset seizures as the initial manifestation without fulminant sign of encephalitis, particularly in the early stage. It is essential to recognize these patients early and to perform antibody testing, as studies have reported early immunotherapy can improve their clinical outcomes. At the same time, it is important to limit the number of patients who require testing, for the sake of specificity and cost effectiveness. Thus, this prospective, multicenter study aims to identify neural antibodies in patients with focal seizures of unknown etiology, and to create a score to preselect patients requiring autoantibody testing.
The notion of genuine placebo effects on epileptic seizure events (i.e., effects beyond methodological study artifacts) is incompatible with the standard model of epilepsy seizure genesis. In this single-blind controlled study, the effectiveness of a covered placebo on (1) the timing of the occurrence of a first epileptic seizure ("seizure pill") versus (2) the subjective well-being ("comfort pill") during pre-surgical video-EEG monitoring will be examined. It is hypothesized that a placebo effect on subjective well-being can be demonstrated, but that epileptic seizure events are not influenced by placebo.
Recent studies have shown that the aperiodic part of the signal (neuronal avalanches) of electroencephalography (EEG) contains important information about the dynamics of neuronal networks. Indeed, this has helped to identify functionally altered areas in patients with temporal epilepsy by simply using the resting EEG signal. Furthermore, it has been seen that the propagation of neuronal avalanches (VNs) correlates with the morphological organization of the cerebral cortex. Therefore, NAs represent a measure with direct utility for studying functional reorganization pre and post drug/surgical treatment. In addition, the aperiodic portion of the signal may represent a noninvasive measure of the excitation/inhibition relationship, which is known of being altered both in epilepsy and in some rare neurodevelopmental syndromes (example: Angelman and Dup15q)
This study will be done in two phases. Using stakeholder input (community advisory board (CAB)), the study team will adapt the SMART program to incorporate education and self-management support for use of Rescue Medication (RM) to manage seizure occurrence among Persons With Epilepsy (PWE) who have repetitive seizures. Additional content/support materials, pending input stakeholder might include posters/hand-outs that present information on the use of RM in a way that is engaging and salient to PWE. It is expected that participants will be in Phase 1 for about 3 months and participate in the CAB 2 or 3 times via zoom for 60-90 minutes/meeting. The advisory board will provide input on needed refinement of an adapted version of SMART based on their individual experiences. It is anticipate the total time commitment to be no more than 6 hours over 3 months, spread out over 2-3 meetings with review of materials possible in between meetings. Phase 2: The investigators will use a 6-month prospective trial design to test engagement with and effects of SMART-RM among approximately 35 adult (≥ 18 years) PWE who have repetitive seizures.
Over the past decade, the concept of the brain as a complex network has extremely influenced the way regarding how the latter is studied (Bartolomei et al., 2017). The structure of both structural and functional networks within the brain has been related to optimal brain functioning (Duma et al., 2022). This evolution of methods and approaches of investigation has directly impacted the study of epilepsy. An early conception of focal epilepsy was that it was related to the activity of the epileptogenic zone, which was identified as the generative element of seizures. However, what was previously considered focal was found to be network alterations at various levels, thus moving from the epileptogenic zone to the concept of the epileptogenic network. Alterations in both the structural and functional network, compared with a healthy control population, have been identified in various forms of epilepsy from focal to idiopathic generalized epilepsy (Lariviere et al., 2022, Zhang et al., 2009). Often the identification and removal of the epileptogenic network, turns out to be the elective therapy in drug-resistant focal epilepsies. The process of diagnosing and defining the epileptogenic network is still debated today. One of the most widely used methods is the implantation of intracranial electrodes for electroencephalographic recording of seizures (Bartolomei et al., 2017). This methodology carries with it several, albeit controlled, risks to the patient. New noninvasive approaches are being developed seeking to integrate information from structural neuroimaging and cortical electrical activity measured by high-density electroencephalography with external electrodes (Duma et al., 2021). These new approaches also include simulative approaches that exploit individualized information such as cortex geometry and patient-specific white matter connections (Courtiol et al. 2020). Thus, starting from a simple structural and diffusion MRI, which is done in routine clinical examinations, multiple localizing hypotheses of the epileptogenic network can be tested using simulative models and then compared with the real EEG signal as validation. Of great relevance is also to understand how the structural-functional connectome relates to cognitive function in patients with epilepsy, who have a high probability of presenting impaired functioning in one or more cognitive domains.
Background Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder. It affects 50 million people worldwide and has the highest incidence in pediatric age. According to the latest classification of the ILAE (International League against Epilepsy), epilepsies are divided into lesional (symptomatic) and non-lesional/genetic forms. Symptomatic causes of epilepsy may include scarring, tumors, strokes, and brain developmental disorders such as dysplasias. In approximately 30% of epilepsies a genetic cause of epilepsy can be hypothesized. Since the identification of the first epilepsy gene in 1995, over the next 25 years over 500 genes associated with epilepsy have been identified. The importance of many genes and many gene variants identified in many genes is not yet clear and the mutations identified in different genes require confirmation with functional studies and confirmation on larger series of patients. Furthermore, the genetic defect underlying many patients with epilepsy remains unknown to this day, despite a high level of gene sequencing effort. Molecular studies on these genes have demonstrated how pathogenic variants on these genes determine a protein dysfunction that can cause neuronal hyperexcitability and pathological synchronization of neuronal networks leading to epileptic seizures and brain dysfunction. A notable complication in the field of epilepsy genetics is represented by the fact that the concept of a gene/a disease is valid only in a few cases, as there is a high phenotypic and genotypic heterogeneity so that a gene can present different types of epilepsy even within the same family. This means that there is a complex multigenic and multifactorial genetic substrate for which the impact of a specific genetic variant is conditioned by variants of other genes. This concept is particularly valid for the most common epileptic forms such as idiopathic generalized epilepsies. The integration of genetic analysis with epileptological characterization in clinical practice is increasingly crucial in defining a clear molecular diagnosis in patients whose disease cause would otherwise remain unknown, and potentially allows avoiding other unnecessary diagnostic investigations. It is therefore expected that this will lead to optimizing clinical management and reducing overall costs over time. The genetic finding can constitute a useful biomarker for defining the outcome of the disease and for guiding clinical decisions such as the best choice of therapy. Despite the advantages, before starting the genetic testing process, patients and their family members should be informed about the ethical issues that may arise from genetic testing, the technical limitations, legal aspects and costs of genetic investigation. Aim of the study Characterization of patients with epilepsy recruited at the Hospital Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico in Milan (Italy) and analysis with exome NGS sequencing of patients with the highest probability of genetic diagnosis with exome (use of a probability score) Endpoints of study are the following: 1. Identification of the genetic cause of the forms of genetic epilepsies with the highest probability of molecular diagnosis with exome 2. Clinical-instrumental and epileptological characterization according to the ILAE classification of patients with epilepsy followed at the Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Fondazione Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico 3. Correlation of clinical and instrumental parameters (in particular EEG and neuropsychological) of epilepsy recorded on the database with etiology, outcome and response to therapy