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BACKGROUND: : Multiple subpial transection (MST) is a potential surgical treatment for patients with epileptogenic foci located in cortical areas with higher functions. As neurosurgical teams have become more experienced with MST, the original technique has adapted. OBJECTIVE: : To report our 6-year experience with a modified MST technique. METHODS: : The population included 62 consecutive patients with medically refractory epilepsy treated by MST, with a follow-up period ranging from 2 to 9 years. MST was performed on gyri under neuronavigation and guided by intraoperative electrocorticography. We performed radiating MST from a single cortical entry point. The MST technique was described according to the number of transections performed and the Brodmann areas (BAs) involved. Any MST-related complications were registered and followed up. Clinical outcome was described in terms of seizure suppression or reduction according to the Engel modified classification. RESULTS: : Twelve patients underwent MST alone (MSTa), and 50 had MST with another procedure. The main MST sites were BA 4 (61%) and 3, 1, 2 (58%); in 22% of cases, MST was performed in BA 44, 22, 39, and 40. Permanent neurological deficits were observed in 4 (6.4%) patients; 2 minor deficits were MST related (3.2%). A reduction in the seizure rate of at least 50% was seen in 79% of patients (MSTa group, 75%), and 42% became seizure free (MSTa group, 33%). CONCLUSION: : This study demonstrates the efficacy and low morbidity of radiating MST performed under neuronavigation and intraoperative electrocorticography. ABBREVIATIONS: : BA, Brodmann areaEEG, electroencephalogramFDG, 18-fluorodeoxyglucoseioECoG, intraoperative electrocorticographyMRE, medically refractory epilepsyMST, multiple subpial transectionMSTa, multiple subpial transection aloneMST+, multiple subpial transection with other procedures.

Few comparative clinical trials of newer antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) in patients with refractory partial epilepsy are available. Therefore, meta-analysis is a widely used and useful method for comparing them. Despite the limitations of indirect comparisons, and recognizing that these drugs were tested at different doses, such comparisons can be helpful to physicians making practical treatment decisions. The purposes of this study were to present newer meta-analysis results for add-on levetiracetam compared with placebo and to estimate its efficacy and tolerability compared with other new AEDs (gabapentin, lamotrigine, oxcarbazepine, tiagabine, topiramate, and zonisamide) in a meta-analysis using methods for making indirect comparisons. Randomized placebo-controlled clinical trials of add-on therapy with levetiracetam, gabapentin, lamotrigine, oxcarbazepine, tiagabine, topiramate, and zonisamide in patients with refractory partial epilepsy were identified in the Cochrane Library 2002. A fixed effects model was used to estimate Mantel-Haenszel odds ratios for the responder rate (efficacy measure) and withdrawal rate (mainly tolerability measure) of levetiracetam and other new AEDs versus placebo. Because no head-to-head clinical trials comparing these new AEDs exist, adjusted indirect comparisons were then made between levetiracetam and each other AED using the meta-analysis results. At the doses tested, levetiracetam was more effective in terms of responder rate than gabapentin (odds ratio 2.64 with 95% CI 1.514.63) and lamotrigine (odds ratio 1.86 with 95% CI 1.04-3.34) and equally well tolerated. Levetiracetam had a significantly lower withdrawal rate than topiramate (odds ratio 0.52 with 95% CI 0.290.93) and oxcarbazepine (odds ratio 0.55 with 95% CI 0.33-0.92), with comparable efficacy. Although levetiracetam did not differ significantly from the other AEDs, numerical trends favoring levetiracetam were obtained in response rate and in withdrawal rate (tiagabine, z