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In Canada, recreational use of cannabis was legalized in October 2018. This policy change along with recent publications evaluating the efficacy of cannabis for the medical treatment of epilepsy and media awareness about its use have increased the public interest about this agent. The Canadian League Against Epilepsy Medical Therapeutics Committee, along with a multidisciplinary group of experts and Canadian Epilepsy Alliance representatives, has developed a position statement about the use of medical cannabis for epilepsy. This article addresses the current Canadian legal framework, recent publications about its efficacy and safety profile, and our understanding of the clinical issues that should be considered when contemplating cannabis use for medical purposes.

A new infrastructure is urgently needed at the global level to facilitate exchange on key issues concerning genome editing. We advocate the establishment of a global observatory to serve as a center for international, interdisciplinary, and cosmopolitan reflection. This article is the second of a two-part series.

A new infrastructure is urgently needed at the global level to facilitate exchange on key issues concerning genome editing. We advocate the establishment of a global observatory to serve as a center for international, interdisciplinary, and cosmopolitan reflection. This article is the first of a two-part series.

ObjectiveTo perform a systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis to identify preoperative factors associated with a good seizure outcome in children with Tuberous Sclerosis Complex undergoing resective epilepsy surgery.Data sourcesElectronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and Web of Science), archives of major epilepsy and neurosurgery meetings, and bibliographies of relevant articles, with no language or date restrictions.Study selectionWe included case-control or cohort studies of consecutive participants undergoing resective epilepsy surgery that reported seizure outcomes. We performed title and abstract and full text screening independently and in duplicate. We resolved disagreements through discussion.Data extractionOne author performed data extraction which was verified by a second author using predefined data fields including study quality assessment using a risk of bias instrument we developed. We recorded all preoperative factors that may plausibly predict seizure outcomes.Data synthesisTo identify predictors of a good seizure outcome (i.e. Engel Class I or II) we used logistic regression adjusting for length of follow-up for each preoperative variable.ResultsOf 9863 citations, 20 articles reporting on 181 participants were eligible. Good seizure outcomes were observed in 126 (69%) participants (Engel Class I: 102(56%); Engel class II: 24(13%)). In univariable analyses, absence of generalized seizure semiology (OR = 3.1, 95%CI = 1.2-8.2, p = 0.022), no or mild developmental delay (OR = 7.3, 95%CI = 2.1-24.7, p = 0.001), unifocal ictal scalp electroencephalographic (EEG) abnormality (OR = 3.2, 95%CI = 1.4-7.6, p = 0.008) and EEG/Magnetic resonance imaging concordance (OR = 4.9, 95%CI = 1.8-13.5, p = 0.002) were associated with a good postoperative seizure outcome.ConclusionsSmall retrospective cohort studies are inherently prone to bias, some of which are overcome using individual participant data. The best available evidence suggests four preoperative factors predictive of good seizure outcomes following resective epilepsy surgery. Large long-term prospective multicenter observational studies are required to further evaluate the risk factors identified in this review.

Introduction. Tuberous sclerosis (TS) is the leading cause of genetic epilepsy worldwide. Here, we evaluate changes in seizure outcomes following resective epilepsy surgery in children with TS over time. Methods. A systematic review of the literature was performed to identify studies reporting seizure outcomes following resective epilepsy surgery in children with TS. Using an individual participant meta-analysis approach, seizure outcomes and associated covariates were combined. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine significant associations between seizure outcomes and time of surgery. Results. Twenty studies from 1966 to present, yielding 186 participants, met the inclusion criteria for the study. On univariate analysis, there was a significant improvement in seizure outcomes in children who underwent resective epilepsy surgery within the last 15 years compared to older cohorts (chi-square 4.1; P = 0.043). On multivariate analysis, adjusting for length of followup, this trend was not significant (OR 0.52; 95% CI 0.23-1.17; P = 0.11). In the last 15 years, a greater proportion of younger children also underwent resective surgery compared to older cohorts (OR 0.93; 95% CI 0.89-0.97; P < 0.01). Conclusions. A trend towards improved seizure outcomes following resective surgery for TS was observed from 1966 to present on multivariate analysis.

Objective: This longitudinal cohort study aimed to identify trajectories of parent well‐being over the first 2 years after their child's evaluation for candidacy for epilepsy surgery, and to identify the baseline clinical and demographic characteristics associated with these trajectories. Parent well‐being was based on parent depressive and anxiety symptoms and family resources (i.e., family mastery and social support). Methods: Parents of 259 children with drug‐resistant epilepsy (105 of whom eventually had surgery) were recruited from eight epilepsy centers across Canada at the time of their evaluation for epilepsy surgery candidacy. Participants were assessed at baseline and 6‐month, 1‐year, and 2‐year follow‐up. The trajectories of parents' depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and family resources were jointly estimated using multigroup latent class growth models. Results: The analyses identified three trajectories: an optimal‐stable group with no/minimal depressive or anxiety symptoms, and high family resources that remained stable over time; a mild‐decreasing‐plateau group with mild depressive and anxiety symptoms that decreased over time then plateaued, and intermediate family resources that remained stable; and a moderate‐decreasing group with moderate depressive and anxiety symptoms that decreased slightly, and low family resources that remained stable over time. Parents of children with higher health‐related quality of life, fathers, and parents who had higher household income were more likely to have better trajectories of well‐being. Treatment type was not associated with the trajectory groups, but parents whose children were seizure‐free at the time of the last follow‐up were more likely to have better trajectories (optimal‐stable or mild‐decreasing‐plateau trajectories). Significance: This study documented distinct trajectories of parent well‐being, from the time of the child's evaluation for epilepsy surgery. Parents who present with anxiety and depressive symptoms and low family resources do not do well over time. They should be identified and offered supportive services early in their child's epilepsy treatment history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infantile spasms respond to ACTH, and levels of the hormone in cerebrospinal fluid of untreated infants with this disorder were found to be lower than in age-matched controls. In this study we analyzed cerebrospinal fluid cortisol and ACTH using improved immunoassays in a larger cohort of infants with infantile spasms. Analysis of 20 patients and 15 age-matched controls revealed significantly lower levels of both ACTH and cortisol in the cerebrospinal fluid. These data, combined with the efficacy of ACTH and glucocorticoids for infantile spasms, support an involvement of the brain-adrenal-axis in this disorder.

Two patients with intractable seizures and large structural lesions were candidates for hemispherectomy for seizure control. Repeated ictal EEGs recorded from scalp falsely localized seizure onset to the contralateral hemisphere. Intracarotid amobarbital study was performed during left-body epilepsia partialis continua in one subject. Amobarbital was injected in the right internal carotid artery, despite electrographic seizure activity apparently originating in the left hemisphere. Clinical and electrographic seizure activity ceased immediately at the onset of left hemiparesis, without inducing right hemiparesis, speech loss, or EEG attenuation on the left. Intracranial recordings in both patients confirmed that the clinically suspect hemisphere was the source of the seizures, and hemispherectomy produced excellent clinical results. In the presence of a large structural lesion, it appears that scalp EEG may falsely localize ictal discharges to the contralateral side. © 1993 Butterworth-Heinemann.

The neuroanatomical substrate of seizures induced by picomolar amounts of corticotropin-releasing hormone in infant rats was investigated. Electrographic and behavioral phenomena were monitored in 42 rat pups aged 5 to 22 days. Rat pups carried bipolar electrodes implanted in subcortical limbic structures, as well as cortical electrodes and intracerebroventricular cannulae. The administration of corticotropin-releasing hormone produced age-specific seizures within minutes, which correlated with rhythmic amygdala discharges. Paroxysmal hippocampal and cortical discharges developed subsequently in some rats. Corticotropin-releasing hormone-induced electrographic and behavioral seizures originate in the amygdala.

We present 3 patients in whom epilepsia partialis continua was the presenting sign of an acute, rapidly evolving and catastrophic neurologic illness. Initial seizures were partial simple (i.e., eye deviation in one, finger twitching in one) which progressed to multifocal partial seizures. The course of the epilepsia partialis continua was 36-41 days. Prognosis was uniformly poor (i.e., death in 2, vegetative state in 1); therefore, epilepsia partialis continua in the context of an acute neurologic illness may herald a grim outcome.

The effects of bicuculline, a gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) antagonist, were investigated in 258 immature rats between the third and 22nd postnatal days. Behavioral and electrocorticographic events were correlated. Bicuculline induced both behavioral and electrographic seizures as early as the third postnatal day, an age when the CD50 for bicuculline was lowest, and therefore the sensitivity to it was the greatest. Bicuculline may thus be a suitable convulsant for epilepsy studies involving rats during the first postnatal week.

Objectives: The purpose of this longitudinal cohort study was to examine the variables that influence health‐related quality of life (HRQOL) after epilepsy surgery in children. We examined whether treatment type (surgical vs medical therapy) and seizure control are related to other variables that have been shown to influence HRQOL, namely depressive symptoms in children with epilepsy or their parents, and the availability of family resources. Methods: In total, 265 children with drug‐resistant epilepsy were recruited from eight epilepsy centers across Canada at the time of their evaluation for candidacy for epilepsy surgery and were assessed at baseline, 6‐month, 1‐year, and 2‐year follow‐up. Parents completed the Quality of Life in Childhood Epilepsy Questionnaire (QOLCE‐55) and measures of family resources and depression; children completed depression inventories. Causal mediation analyses using natural effect models were used to evaluate the extent to which the relationship between treatment and HRQOL was explained by seizure control, child and parent depressive symptoms, and family resources. Results: Overall, 111 children underwent surgery and 154 were treated with medical therapy only. The HRQOL scores of surgical patients were 3.4 points higher (95% confidence interval [CI]: −0.2, 7.0) relative to medical patients at the 2‐year follow‐up after adjusting for baseline covariates, with 66% of the effect of surgery attributed to seizure control. Child or parent depressive symptoms and family resources had negligible mediation effects between treatment and HRQOL. The effect of seizure control on HRQOL was not mediated by child or parent depressive symptoms, or by family resources. Significance: The findings demonstrate that seizure control is on the causal pathway between epilepsy surgery and improved HRQOL in children with drug‐resistant epilepsy. However, child and parent depressive symptoms and family resources were not significant mediators. The results highlight the importance of achieving seizure control to improve HRQOL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]