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Objectives: To present our local experience with intracranial angioplasty and stenting used for the treatment of symptomatic intracranial stenosis to assess its safety, efficacy, and outcome. Methods: This is a retrospective review of all the patients with symptomatic intracranial atherosclerotic disease who underwent endovascular treatment in King Faisal Specialist Hospital and research center, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from January 2003 to December 2014. Clinical, procedural, and outcome variables were gathered. Results: We identified 22 patients who were referred for stenting of symptomatic intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis. In all but 3, the stents were deployed successfully (86% procedural success rate). The procedure was carried out under conscious sedation in 32%. Excellent flow was restored immediately in all successfully-stented cases. Post procedural strokes occurred in 4 patients (17.4%). One non-neurological death was identified in a patient who suffered a major post procedural stroke (4.3%). Conclusion: Intracranial atherosclerotic disease is not uncommon in our population. Angioplasty and stenting might be a valid option for the treatment of patients with recurrent symptoms despite optimal medical treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To assess the influence of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain findings on the timing of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) withdrawal following anterior temporal lobectomy (ATL) in patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE)., Methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from Jan, 2004 - Dec, 2017 of patients with MTLE who underwent ATL and included patients who had a minimum of 2 years of follow-up. We evaluated the association between the time required to start tapering and discontinuing AEDs after ATL in patients with Engel class I outcomes and their preoperative brain MRI., Results: We studied 64 patients who underwent ATL. The majority of patients (63%) had hippocampal sclerosis (HS) on histopathology. Following ATL, the mean time to start tapering AEDs was 10 months and AEDs were discontinued at a mean of 48 months. Abnormal brain MRI was observed in 53 (83%) patients, with findings suggestive of mesial temporal sclerosis (MTS) accounting for 75% of these abnormalities. The presence of any MRI abnormality was associated with a 10-month earlier tapering of AEDs ( p <0.01), and an 18-month earlier complete withdrawal of AEDs ( p <0.01). The odds of being seizure-free within the first year were higher if MTS was present in the brain MRI (adjusted OR=16). Similarly, this was associated with seizure freedom after the first year (adjusted OR=14.8, p <0.01). The presence of unilateral temporal IEDs on preoperative EEG were also associated with earlier tapering and discontinuation of AEDs as well as a seizure-free state after ATL surgery (OR=8.5 and 4.2, for the first and second year respectively, p <0.01)., Conclusion: Patients with abnormal MRI findings and unilateral IEDs had earlier tapering of AEDs with an overall shorter AED discontinuation plan. Moreover, the presence of MTS on MRI, along with unilateral IEDs, were predictors of seizure freedom following ATL., (Copyright: © Neurosciences.)

Hemiplegic migraine is a rare form of migraine variant. It is characterized by recurrent attacks of headache associated with temporary neurological deficit, usually unilateral hemiparesis or hemiplegia. It can be difficult to distinguish from migrainous stroke clinically, and a full neurological work-up and careful review of medical history and symptoms are necessary for the diagnosis. Two forms of hemiplegic migraine are known: familial and sporadic, phenotypically similar, differentiated by the absence of family history of similar attacks in the sporadic form. We report a case of sporadic hemiplegic migraine with unusually prolonged deficit and progression to quadriplegia with complete return to baseline 7 days after onset. Diffusion weighted images helped in excluding infarction.