Incomplete resection of the intracranial electroencephalographic seizure onset zone is not associated with postsurgical outcomes.

Delineation of seizure onset regions using intracranial electroencephalography (icEEG) is vital in the surgical workup of drug-resistant epilepsy cases. However, it is unknown whether the complete resection of these regions is necessary for seizure freedom, or whether postsurgical seizure recurrence can be attributed to the incomplete removal of seizure onset regions. To address this gap, we retrospectively analyzed icEEG recordings from 63 subjects, identifying seizure onset regions visually and algorithmically. We assessed onset region resection and correlated this with postsurgical seizure control. The majority of subjects had more than half of their onset regions resected (82.46% and 80.65% of subjects using visual and algorithmic methods, respectively). There was no association between the proportion of the seizure onset zone (SOZ) that was subsequently resected and better surgical outcomes (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [AUC] < .7). Investigating the spatial extent of onset regions, we found no substantial evidence of an association with postsurgical seizure control (all AUC < .7). Although seizure onset regions are typically resected completely or in large part, incomplete resection is not associated with worse postsurgical outcomes. We conclude that postsurgical seizure recurrence cannot be attributed to an incomplete resection of the icEEG SOZ alone. Other network mechanisms beyond icEEG seizure onset likely contribute.

Epileptogenic networks in extra temporal lobe epilepsy.

Extra temporal lobe epilepsy (eTLE) may involve heterogenous widespread cerebral networks. We investigated the structural network of an eTLE cohort, at the postulated epileptogenic zone later surgically removed, as a network node: the resection zone (RZ). We hypothesized patients with an abnormal connection to/from the RZ to have proportionally increased abnormalities based on topological proximity to the RZ, in addition to poorer post-operative seizure outcome. Structural and diffusion MRI were collected for 22 eTLE patients pre- and post-surgery, and for 29 healthy controls. The structural connectivity of the RZ prior to surgery, measured via generalized fractional anisotropy (gFA), was compared with healthy controls. Abnormal connections were identified as those with substantially reduced gFA (z < -1.96). For patients with one or more abnormal connections to/from the RZ, connections with closer topological distance to the RZ had higher proportion of abnormalities. The minority of the seizure-free patients (3/11) had one or more abnormal connections, while most non-seizure-free patients (8/11) had abnormal connections to the RZ. Our data suggest that eTLE patients with one or more abnormal structural connections to/from the RZ had more proportional abnormal connections based on topological distance to the RZ and associated with reduced chance of seizure freedom post-surgery.

An analysis of the portrayal of dentistry in modern popular film from a dentist's perspective.

Dentists have been portrayed negatively in many forms of media, including in film. These portrayals may affect the public perception of the profession. This study aimed to quantify the proportion of modern popular films which depicted dentistry in a negative light and to evaluate the common themes arising in films containing dental professionals.Popular films containing references to dentistry or dental treatment were identified from previous publications, and by searching plot summaries of the top 100 films released during each year 1980-2019. All films identified were watched, relevant dialogue was transcribed and pertinent details from scenes with dentists were documented.A total of 60 films that had the potential to influence public perception of dentistry were included in the analysis. Many portrayals were negative (50%), with very few positive depictions (5%), and 30 films contained scenes of clinical dentistry, which were often medically inaccurate (30%). In total, 57% of patients in clinical scenes were distressed or physically harmed. Conscious sedation is frequently abused. Dentists are most commonly portrayed by white men, whereas women may be cast as hygienists. Common themes include sexual misconduct, crime and an unfavourable comparison with medicine.The portrayal of dentistry in film is largely negative and frequently inaccurate.

Accuracy of the Head and Neck Cancer Risk Calculator in identifying maxillofacial malignancies.

The OMFS urgent suspicion of cancer (USOC) referral pathway for head and neck cancer is costly in terms of time and resources, and despite NICE referral guidance, it has a low conversion rate with many inappropriate referrals. The Head and Neck Cancer Risk Calculator version 2 (HaNC-RC-v2) gives recommendations to primary care referrers on appropriate referral priority. To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the accuracy of the HaNC-RC-v2 in a cohort of maxillofacial referrals. Electronic patient records were reviewed for all malignancies diagnosed by OMFS in 2019 (n = 54), and a sample of USOC referrals to OMFS (n = 204). The HaNC-RC-v2 was applied to each patient, using information from the referral letter and the clinical notes from the new patient consultation. The mean and median HaNC-RC-v2 scores for patients with malignancy were 42.22% and 32.23%, respectively. For patients without malignancy, mean and median scores were 9.27% and 5.68%, respectively. There was a statistically significant relation between the presence/absence of malignancy and the recommendation made by the risk calculator (p = 0.0012). The calculator recommended USOC referral for 76% (41/54) of patients with malignancy, and only 41% (83/204) of patients without malignancy. The negative predictive value of the HaNC-RC-v2 was 99.2%. The calculator has the potential to reduce the number of inappropriate referrals to OMFS via the USOC pathway.