36 or encephalopathic process in some cases. Additional factors involved in the mechanism of the FS include a genetic susceptibility, age and maturation, and cytokine and immune response to infection [1]. The association of allergic rhinitis and FS in the present study was significantly higher in children 0.5 to 2 yrs of age (the age of susceptibility to FS), of male sex, and with frequent FS-r...

Steroids and adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) have been used for the treatment of infantile spasms for several years. However, the use of steroids in the treatment of epilepsy beyond infantile spasms has been limited to only a few studies. We report the experience with steroids in 32 children with intractable epilepsy, not including West syndrome. In 47% there was a decrease in seizure frequ...

Recent attempts to clarify the pathogenesis of pharmacoresistant epilepsies arrive at the conclusion that intractable epilepsies might be prevented by earlier, more effective pharmacotherapy. In this paper the problem of intractability is examined from a psychological point of view. Sixteen patients with intractable epilepsies were trained in techniques of self control (SC) in addition to ongoi...

This paper reviews Drosophila voltage-gated Na(+) channel mutations encoded by the para (paralytic) gene and their contributions to seizure disorders in the fly. Numerous mutations cause seizure-sensitivity, for example, para(bss1), with phenotypes that resemble human intractable epilepsy in some aspects. Seizure phenotypes are also seen with human GEFS+ spectrum mutations that have been knocke...

Background: Refractory (intractable/pharmaco-resistant) epilepsy in children is considered if disabling seizures continue despite appropriate trials of two anti-seizure drugs, either alone or combination. Ketogenic diets are used as a treatment option many countries for with refractory seizures; however, few patients have tried it Saudi Arabia. Therefore, we examined the relationship between ex...

OBJECTIVES To study the outcome of disconnective epilepsy surgery for intractable hemispheric and sub-hemispheric pediatric epilepsy. METHODS A retrospective analysis of the epilepsy surgery database was done in all children (age <18 years) who underwent a peri-insular hemispherotomy (PIH) or a peri-insular posterior quadrantectomy (PIPQ) from April 2000 to March 2011. All patients underwent ...

imately 15,000 to 30,000 people each year in the US. Epilepsy is considered intractable when it significantly reduces the quality of a person’s life, either because frequent seizures persist despite appropriate doses and types of antiepilepsy medications or because the control of seizures is possible only with medication dosages that produce excessive sedation.34 In most cases of surgically rem...

Corpus callosotomy has a long history as a palliative treatment for intractable epilepsy. Identification of a single epileptogenic zone is critical to performing successful resective surgery. We describe three patients in which corpus callosotomy allowed recognition of unapparent seizure foci, leading to subsequent successful resection. We retrospectively reviewed our epilepsy surgery database ...

AIMS Scalp-EEG interictal epileptiform discharges (IEDs) may be less predictive of the outcome of frontal lobe epilepsy surgery than of temporal lobe epilepsy surgery. We identified factors associated with the location of scalp-EEG IEDs in intractable frontal lobe epilepsy. METHODS Ten factors were assessed in a retrospective review of 53 patients with either concordant (frontal lobe seizure ...

Background: Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is the most common type of intractable and partial epilepsies. The only standard treatment for seizure-free status with manifest TLE surgical which includes amygdala-hippocampectomy. majority temporal seizures originate in mesial structures, primarily hippocampus, para hippocampal gyrus amygdala.