0000000000343831
AUTHOR
Stefan Beyenburg
First clinical postmarketing experiences in the treatment of epilepsies with brivaracetam: a retrospective observational multicentre study.
ObjectivesBrivaracetam (BRV) is the latest approved antiepileptic drug and acts as a synaptic vesicle protein 2A ligand. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of BRV in the clinical setting.DesignRetrospective, observational multicentre study.SettingWe retrospectively collected clinical data of patients who received BRV in 10 epilepsy centres using a questionnaire that was answered by the reporting neurologist.ParticipantsData of 615 epilepsy patients treated with BRV were included in the study.Primary and secondary outcome measuresEfficacy regarding seizure frequency and tolerability of BRV were evaluated. Descriptive statistics complemented by X2 conti…
The CD34 epitope is expressed in neoplastic and malformative lesions associated with chronic, focal epilepsies.
The etiology and pathogenesis of complex focal lesions associated with chronic, intractable epilepsy are largely unknown. Some data indicate that malformative changes of the central nervous system may preceed the development of gangliogliomas and other epilepsy-associated neoplasms. In the present immunhistochemical study, we have examined epilepsy-associated lesions for CD34, a stem cell marker transiently expressed during early neurulation. Surprisingly, most tissue samples from patients with chronic epilepsy (n = 262) revealed neural cells immunoreactive for CD34. Prominent immunoreactivity was detected in gangliogliomas (74%), low-grade astrocytomas (62%) and oligodendrogliomas (59%). O…