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Seizures, transient signs or symptoms caused by abnormal surges of electrical activity in the brain, can result from epilepsy, a neurologic disorder characterized by abnormal electrical brain activity causing recurrent, unprovoked seizures, or from other inciting causes, such as high fever or substance abuse (1). Seizures generally account for approximately 1% of all emergency department (ED) visits (2,3). Persons of any age can experience seizures, and outcomes might range from no complications for those with a single seizure to increased risk for injury, comorbidity, impaired quality of life, and early mortality for those with epilepsy (4). To examine trends in weekly seizure- or epilepsy-related (seizure-related) ED visits † in the United States before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, CDC analyzed data from the National Syndromic Surveillance Program (NSSP). § Seizure-related ED visits decreased abruptly during the early pandemic period. By the end of 2020, seizure-related ED visits returned almost to prepandemic levels for persons of all ages, except children aged 0-9 years. By mid-2021, however, this age group gradually returned to baseline as well. Reasons for the decrease in seizure-related ED visits in 2020 among all age groups and the slow return to baseline among children aged 0-9 years compared with other age groups are unclear. The decrease might have been associated with fear of exposure to COVID-19 infection in EDs deterring parents or guardians of children from seeking care, adherence to mitigation measures including avoiding public settings such as EDs, or increased access to telehealth services decreasing the need for ED visits (5). These findings reinforce the importance of understanding factors associated with ED avoidance among persons with epilepsy or seizure, the importance that all eligible persons be up to date ¶ with COVID-19 vaccination, and the need to encourage persons to seek appropriate care for seizure-related emergencies** to prevent adverse outcomes., Competing Interests: All authors have completed and submitted the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors form for disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. R. Edward Hogan reports institutional support for clinical trials from Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development, Cerevel Therapeutics, and Biogen, Inc. Barbara Jobst reports grants from National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Defense, Harvard Pilgrim, Inc, and Neuropace, Inc. No other potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this article is to summarize the role of molecular imaging of the brain by use of SPECT, FDG PET, and non-FDG PET radiotracers in epilepsy. CONCLUSION. Quantitative image analysis with PET and SPECT has increased the diagnostic utility of these modalities in localizing epileptogenic onset zones. A multi-modal platform approach integrating the functional imaging of PET and SPECT with the morphologic information from MRI in presurgical evaluation of epilepsy can greatly improve outcomes.

Background: An earlier 6-month, multicenter, open-label study in patients with complex partial seizures found that a switch from multiple daily doses of conventional carbamazepine (CBZ) to twice-daily CBZ extended-release capsules(CBZ-ERC) was well tolerated, with maintenance of seizure control over the study period and significant improvements in quality of life (P < 0.001)., Objective: The goal of the present study was to assess the tolerability and effects on quality of life of twice-daily CBZ-ERC over the longer term in patients with seizure disorders., Methods: This was a multicenter, open-label assessment of the long-term(12-36 months) tolerability and quality-of-life effects of twice-daily CBZ-ERC given at a daily dose equivalent to the daily dose of CBZ taken before study en-try. The regimen could be adjusted as clinically indicated up to a daily dose of 1600 mg. Patients could receive up to 2 other antiepileptic drugs during the study., Results: One hundred eighteen patients were enrolled. In patients completing>12 months of study therapy, a significant decrease in the highest mean 2-day frequency of generalized tonic-clonic seizures was observed over the first 12 months (P = 0.005). The significant improvements in quality of life achieved in the earlier study were maintained during the present study. Of 37 patients who were discontinued from the study, 9 met criteria mandating withdrawal from the study due to exacerbation of seizures. Three patients were discontinued from the study for adverse events judged to be unrelated to study drug. Low incidences of rash (3.4%) and weight gain (0.8%) were reported., Conclusions: In this population of adults with seizure disorders, CBZ-ERC twice daily was well tolerated during 12 to 36 months of open-label treatment,with no increase in seizure frequency or decrease in quality of life.

We performed MR imaging deformation-based hippocampal shape analysis in a 28-year-old woman in whom status epilepticus developed after acute encephalitis. Hippocampal shape analysis revealed severe global bilateral hippocampal atrophy. Regional volume loss was most accentuated in the medial and lateral aspects of the hippocampal head; the loss was similar to shape changes in hippocampal sclerosis of chronic temporal lobe epilepsy. This deformation pattern may reflect a common pathologic process that causes hippocampal volume loss in both of these conditions.