Notable in Neurology This Week
This issue features an article that explores the risk of cognitive deterioration in children after epilepsy surgery; another investigates how sun and ultraviolet radiation exposure contribute to risk of pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis. A featured Review examines the physiologic and clinical implications of enlarged perivascular spaces in the aging brain.
Research Articles
Epilepsy-Related Mortality in Children and Young Adults in Denmark: A Nationwide Cohort Study
This population-based, retrospective study examined the primary cause of death in people with and without epilepsy aged <50 years. In people with epilepsy, 63% of all deaths were epilepsy-related, suggesting that good seizure control is important to prevent premature death in persons with epilepsy.
Page 97
From editorialist Devinsky: “[This] study has opened our eyes to the spectrum of epilepsy-related deaths.”
Page 93
Functional Connectivity as a Potential Mechanism for Language Plasticity
Task fMRI maps language lateralization but not plasticity, and language network functional connectivity (FC) may fill this gap. In a pediatric sample, the authors found FC differences based on epileptic foci and age. Their findings align with notions of plasticity, and FC may predict reorganization capacity and language recovery.
Page 100
Causes of Death and End-of-Life Care in Patients With Intracranial High-Grade Gliomas: A Retrospective Observational Study
This retrospective study found that clinical tumor progression was the most common cause of death among adults with a glioma. Almost half the patients who died were at home with hospice and few received resuscitation measures. Improved understanding of end-of-life circumstances facilitates informed care planning.
Page 101
Blood Pressure After Endovascular Thrombectomy and Outcomes in Patients With Acute Ischemic Stroke: An Individual Patient Data Meta-analysis
This study analyzed data from 7 cohorts that included 5,874 patients with acute ischemic stroke. Increased systolic blood pressure during the first 24 hours after endovascular stroke thrombectomy was associated with early neurologic deterioration, symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage risk, 3-month mortality, and worse 3-month functional outcomes.
Page 104
NB: “Infliximab to Treat Severe Paradoxical Reaction in HIV-Negative Tuberculous Meningoencephalitis,” p. 118. To check out other NeuroImages, point your browser to Neurology.org/N. At the end of the issue, check out the Resident & Fellow Section Clinical Reasoning article discussing painless progressive weakness in a patient with anti-SRP myopathy and sarcoidosis overlap syndrome. This week also includes a Resident & Fellow Section Teaching Video NeuroImage titled “Carbamazepine Improves Gait Initiation in Autosomal Recessive Myotonia Congenita.”
- © 2022 American Academy of Neurology
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