Care and three-year outcomes of children with Benign Epilepsy with Centro-Temporal Spikes in England.

PURPOSE: Benign Epilepsy with Centro-Temporal Spikes (BECTS) is a pediatric epilepsy with typically good seizure control. Although BECTS may increase patients' risk of developing neurological comorbidities, their clinical care and short-term outcomes are poorly quantified. METHODS: We retrospectively assessed adherence to National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines relating to specialist referral, electroencephalogram (EEG) conduct and annual review in the care of patients with BECTS, and measured their seizure, neurodevelopmental and learning outcomes at three years post-diagnosis. RESULTS: Across ten centers in England, we identified 124 patients (74 male) diagnosed with BECTS between 2015 and 2017. Patients had a mean age at diagnosis of 8.0 (95% CI = 7.6-8.4) years. 24/95 (25%) patients were seen by a specialist within two weeks of presentation; 59/100 (59%) received an EEG within two weeks of request; and 59/114 (52%) were reviewed annually. At three years post-diagnosis, 32/114 (28%) experienced ongoing seizures; 26/114 (23%) had reported poor school progress; 15/114 (13%) were diagnosed with a neurodevelopmental disorder (six autism spectrum disorder, six attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder); and 10/114 (8.8%) were diagnosed with a learning difficulty (three processing deficit, three dyslexia). Center-level random effects models estimated neurodevelopmental diagnoses in 9% (95% CI: 2-16%) of patients and learning difficulty diagnoses in 7% (95% CI: 2-12%). CONCLUSIONS: In this multicenter work, we found variable adherence to NICE guidelines in the care of patients with BECTS and identified a notable level of neurological comorbidity. Patients with BECTS may benefit from enhanced cognitive and behavioral assessment and monitoring.

The influence of disease course and surgery on quality of life in children with focal cortical dysplasia and long-term epilepsy-associated tumours: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Carefully selected patients with lesional epilepsy, including focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) and long-term epilepsy-associated tumours (LEAT), can benefit from epilepsy surgery. The influence of disease course and subsequent epilepsy surgery on quality of life (QoL) and intelligence quotient (IQ) is not well understood. METHODS: A systematic review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Studies reporting QoL or IQ measures in paediatric patients with FCD and LEAT at epilepsy onset, at establishment of drug resistance (pre-operative/non-surgically managed) and post-operatively were included. To evaluate the "effect size" and clinical significance of surgery, a meta-analysis of the data was conducted using fixed effects models for weighted mean differences, 95% confidence intervals and sensitivity analyses. RESULTS: Nineteen eligible studies (911 patients) were included, 17 assessing IQ and 2 evaluating QoL. Twelve studies reported preoperative and postoperative IQ measures and five reported IQ in non-surgically managed cohorts after drug resistance was established; no papers reported IQ at epilepsy onset. No significant IQ/DQ changes were detected after surgery (pre-operative pooled mean 69.32; post-operative pooled mean 69.98; p = 0.32). Age at epilepsy surgery, type of surgery and epilepsy-related pathology did not influence the post-operative IQ. QoL was reported in 2 studies with the pooled mean estimates for pre- and post-operative QoL being 42.52 and 55.50, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The present study demonstrated no statistical change in IQ and QoL following surgery in paediatric patients with FCD and LEAT. There was no data on IQ and QoL at disease onset. Attempting to understand the impact of epilepsy, ongoing seizures and surgery on IQ and QoL will facilitate planning of future studies that aim to optimise quality of life and developmental outcomes in these children. Studies assessing children at epilepsy onset with longitudinal follow-up are required to optimise the timing of epilepsy surgery on QoL and IQ.

Detection of pathological high-frequency oscillations in refractory epilepsy patients undergoing simultaneous stereo-electroencephalography and magnetoencephalography.

BACKGROUND: Stereo-electroencephalography (SEEG) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) have generally been used independently as part of the pre-surgical evaluation of drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) patients. However, the possibility of simultaneously employing these recording techniques to determine whether MEG has the potential of offering the same information as SEEG less invasively, or whether it could offer a greater spatial indication of the epileptogenic zone (EZ) to aid surgical planning, has not been previously evaluated. METHODS: Data from 24 paediatric and adult DRE patients, undergoing simultaneous SEEG and MEG as part of their pre-surgical evaluation, was analysed employing manual and automated high-frequency oscillations (HFOs) detection, and spectral and source localisation analyses. RESULTS: Twelve patients (50%) were included in the analysis (4 males; mean age=25.08 years) and showed interictal SEEG and MEG HFOs. HFOs detection was concordant between the two recording modalities, but SEEG displayed higher ability of differentiating between deep and superficial epileptogenic sources. Automated HFO detector in MEG recordings was validated against the manual MEG detection method. Spectral analysis revealed that SEEG and MEG detect distinct epileptic events. The EZ was well correlated with the simultaneously recorded data in 50% patients, while 25% patients displayed poor correlation or discordance. CONCLUSION: MEG recordings can detect HFOs, and simultaneous use of SEEG and MEG HFO identification facilitates EZ localisation during the presurgical planning stage for DRE patients. Further studies are necessary to validate these findings and support the translation of automated HFO detectors into routine clinical practice.

Twelve tips for successfully getting involved in research as a medical student.

Medical research is a highly competitive yet vital part of medical training, spanning all specialties. Extra-curricular, research-related activities are a key method by which students develop interest in their field of choice, and a competitive edge in medical students. The lack of research education and opportunities within medical school teaching tends to force medical students to look beyond their degree to obtain this experience, and is often the reason why students have little research involvement whilst in medical school. Self-reflecting on one's personality and suitability for different types of research is vital, as well as understanding the nature of research and preparing appropriately before undertaking projects. This paper presents twelve tips for medical students who are interested in pursuing research, offering targeted strategies to get involved.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global neurosurgical education: a systematic review.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted neurosurgical training worldwide, with the shutdown of academic institutions and the reduction of elective surgical procedures. This impact has disproportionately affected LMICs (lower- and/or middle-income countries), already burdened by a lack of neurosurgical resources. Thus, a systematic review was conducted to examine these challenges and innovations developed to adapt effective teaching and learning for medical students and neurosurgical trainees. A systematic review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P) and The Cochrane Handbook of Systematic Reviews of Interventions. MEDLINE, PubMed, Embase and Cochrane databases were accessed, searching and screening literature from December 2019 to 5th December 2020 with set inclusion and exclusion criteria. Screening identified 1254 articles of which 26 were included, providing data from 96 countries. Twenty-three studies reported transition to online learning, with 8 studies also mentioned redeployment into COVID wards with 2 studies mentioning missed surgical exposure as a consequence. Of 7 studies conducted in LMICs, 3 reported residents suffering financial insecurities from reduced surgical caseload and recession. Significant global disruption in neurosurgical teaching and training has arisen from the COVID-19 pandemic. Decreased surgical exposure has negatively impacted educational provision. However, advancements in virtual technology have allowed for more affordable, accessible training especially in LMICs. Using this, initiatives to reduce physical and mental stress experienced by trainees should be paramount.

Genetic alterations in non-syndromic, familial gliomas in first degree relatives: A systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: Despite numerous reports in syndromic gliomas, the underlying genetic and molecular basis of familial, non-syndromic gliomas, in first degree relatives, remains unclear. This rare cohort of patients harboring invasive primary brain tumors with poor prognosis may provide a potential substrate of understanding the complex genetic cascade triggering tumorigenesis. METHODS: A systematic review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P) 2015 and The Cochrane Handbook of Systematic Reviews of Interventions. PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase and CENTRAL databases were accessed with set inclusion and exclusion criteria. RESULTS: Following returns of 6756 articles, systematic analysis resulted in 48 papers, with 18 case series, 4 linkage analysis, 3 case-control studies, 1 cohort study, and 22 case reports. A total of 164 first degree relatives of 72 families were analyzed. The most common genetic alterations associated with non-syndromic familial gliomas reported to affect chromosomes 17 (51.1 % germline and 9.3 % tumor mutations), 22 (15.6 % germline and 6 % tumor mutations) and 1 and 19 (4.4 % germline and 9.3 % tumor mutations), with the most commonly affected genes TP53 (8.5 %) and NF2 (3.7 %). Tumor suppressors or cell-cycle regulators, cell signaling and transcription regulation or methylation were the most common gene function categories. CONCLUSION: Four specific chromosomes (17, 22, 1 and 19) and two specific genes (TP53 and NF2) appear to be most commonly involved. This appears to be the first systematic review of genetic factors underlying non-syndromic glioma clustering in families. The defined list of genetic abnormalities, linked to familial gliomas, may facilitate therapeutic targets and future treatment design.