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International audience; Background: Whilst modern awake intraoperative mapping has been widely accepted and implemented in the last decades in neuro-oncology, sparse reports have been published on the safety and efficiency of this approach in epilepsy surgery.Method: This article reports four cases with different locations of epileptogenic zones as examples of possible safe and efficient resections.Result: The results of the resections on seizure control were Engel 1 (no disabling seizures) in all cases and no patient experienced significant neurological deficits.Discussion: The discussion focuses on aspects of the future of epilepsy surgery in a hodotopical paradigm.

Optic neuritis (ON) causes axonal loss as reflected by thinning of retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) and can be tracked by optical coherence tomography (OCT) about 6 months after ON onset, when swelling of optic nerve head (ONH) has vanished. Changes of macular ganglion cell layer (GCL) thickness provide another window to track the disease process in ON. GCL thinning over time in relation to RNFL change after ON remains elusive. Using OCT, we followed 4 patients with acute unilateral isolated ON for more than 9 months. A diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) was established in all 4 patients. First follow-up was 2-3 weeks after ON onset, and thereafter every 2-3 months. RNFL swelling peaked during first month after acute ON, followed by rapidly reduced swelling (pseudoatrophy) during following 2 months, and thereafter successively vanished 6 months after ON onset. GCL thinning was observed 1-3 months after ON onset, i.e. already during optic disk swelling and before real RNFL thinning. The results imply that quantifying GCL thickness provides opportunities to monitor early axonal loss and ON-to-MS progression, and facilitates distinguishing real atrophy from pseudoatrophy of RNFL after acute ON.

Awake craniotomy for brain tumours Awake neurosurgery is a useful method in lesions near eloquent brain areas, particularly low-grade gliomas.The aim is to maximise tumour resection and preserve neurological function. We performed 40 primary awake surgeries and 8 residual surgeries. Patients were operated awake throughout the procedure or with a laryngeal mask and general anaesthesia during the opening stage and then awake during intracerebral surgery. Language and motor function were mapped with direct cortical stimulation, motor evoked potential and standardised neurological testing. Radiologically, complete resection was achieved in 18 out of 40 patients in the primary surgeries. Full neurological recovery at three months was observed in 29 patients. Of the 11 patients with persisting neurological deficits at three months, symptoms were present preoperatively in 9 patients. We conclude that awake surgery, combined with intraoperative neurophysiological methods, is a safe method to improve treatment for low-grade gliomas.

Objective: Seizures with an aura of a "sensed presence," a religious emotion, or feelings of euphoria (ecstatic seizures) are characterized by heightened self-awareness. A previous case report on a patient with epilepsy and "sensed presence" as an aura described hypoperfusion in both temporal lobes and a local ictal increase in the left frontoparietal area. A reexamination of the data was suggested by a recent study of patients with ecstatic seizures, which proposed that hyperactivation of the left anterior insula might be a potential cause. Methods: We reanalyzed the laboratory data on the case with "sensed presence" aura using a fusion of SPECT and MR images of the brain, which had not previously been available, and a close examination of the subdural ictal EEG registrations. Results: Examination of the ictal EEG recordings from subdural strip electrodes implanted subtemporally and temporally on both sides showed that seizure activity occurred first at the most medial subtemporal electrode on the left side. From an anatomical point of view, this electrode position is close to the ventral aspect of the left anterior insula, and it is possible that the seizure activity was initiated there. Reexamination of the SPECT data after fusion with contemporary MR images clearly indicated that the region of strong hyperactivation overlies the left anterior insula. Hyperactive regions also appear on the midinsula bilaterally. Together with the neurophysiological ictal EEG, this evidence supports a reinterpretation that this aura of "sensed presence" can be attributed to hyperactivation of the left anterior insula. Conclusion: The present findings support the proposal that ecstatic seizures or "sensed presence" auras can originate from the left anterior insula, a region that has been suggested to engender self-awareness associated with positive feelings.

An observational study of changes in muscle structure and the relation to muscle strength in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA).Fifteen children and teenagers (eight girls and seven boys) with JIA, aged 9-19 yr (mean age 16.1), were studied. Muscle biopsies were obtained from the anterior tibial muscle and were examined using histopathological and immunohistochemical methods. Muscle fibre types were classified and fibre areas measured. As markers of inflammation, the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I and class II and the membrane attack complex (MAC) were analysed. Results were compared with biopsies from the gastrocnemius muscle in 33 young (19-23 yr) healthy controls. Isometric and isokinetic muscle strengths were measured in ankle dorsiflexion. Strength was compared with reference values for healthy age-matched controls. Nerve conduction velocities were recorded in the peroneal and sural nerves.Four of the 15 muscle biopsies were morphologically normal. Eleven biopsies showed minor unspecific changes. Two of these also showed minor signs of inflammation. MHC class II expression was found in 4/15 patients, which was significantly more than in the healthy controls (P = 0.0143). The expression of MHC class I and MAC did not differ from that in the controls. The mean area of type I fibres was lower than that of type IIA fibres in 12/13 biopsies. Muscle strength was significantly reduced in the patient group. There was a significant positive correlation between muscle fibre area and muscle strength. Nerve conduction studies were normal in all cases.Changes in leg muscle biopsies appear to be common in children and teenagers with JIA. The presence of inflammatory cells in the muscle and expression of MHC class II on muscle fibres may be a sign of inflammatory myopathy. There are no findings of type II muscle fibre hypotrophy or neuropathy, as in adults with RA.

The aim of this study was to investigate to what extent women with superficial dyspareunia can be diagnosed for both partial vaginismus (PaV) and vulvar vestibulitis (VVS) and to discover to what extent surface electromyography (sEMG) of the pelvic floor muscles (PFM) can distinguish between women with PaV solely, PaV+ VVS, and asymptomatic women. A total of 224 consecutive women with superficial dyspareunia were examined clinically for both PaV and VVS diagnoses. We examined 47 women with PaV+/-VVS and 27 asymptomatic women with sEMG of the PFM. The results showed that 102/224 women with superficial dyspareunia and 33/47 women with PaV in the sEMG part of the study had both PaV and VVS. All women with VVS had vaginismus, while 42/224 had PaV but not VVS. sEMG measurements revealed no significant differences between the three groups of women (PaV solely, PaV + VVS, and asymptomatic). Almost half of the women with superficial dyspareunia referred to our clinic have both the diagnosis PaV and VVS. sEMG was not a method of any value to distinguish between women with PaV solely, PaV + VVS, or asymptomatic women. The increased tone found clinically in the PFM of women with PaV+/-VVS may be of other origin than electrogenic contractions.

PURPOSE: The aim of this controlled study was to examine whether it was feasible to use magnetic stimulation as a new diagnostic tool to evaluate the motor function of the sacral roots and the pudendal nerves in patients with fecal incontinence. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Nineteen consecutive patients (17 females) with a median age of 67 (range, 36–78) years referred for fecal incontinence and 14 healthy volunteers (six females) with a median age of 42 (range, 23–69) years were examined. Latency times of the motor response of the external anal sphincter were measured after electric transrectal stimulation of the pudendal nerve and magnetic stimulation of the sacral roots. RESULTS: The success rates of pudendal nerve terminal motor latency and sacral root terminal motor latency measurements were 100 and 85 percent, respectively, in the control group and 94 and 81 percent, respectively, in the fecal incontinence group. Median left pudendal nerve terminal motor latency was 1.88 (range, 1.4–2.9) milliseconds in the control group and 2.3 (range, 1.8–4) milliseconds in the fecal incontinence group (P