1,721,024 research outputs found
Author Response: Predictors of Seizure Recurrence in Women With Idiopathic Generalized Epilepsy Who Switch From Valproate to Another Medication
No full textNo abstract availabl
Nutraceutical Approach to Peripheral Neuropathies: Evidence from Clinical Trials
No full textPeripheral neuropathies are damages to or disorders of the peripheral nervous system including radiculopathies, plexopathies, mono-, multi- and polyneuropathies. The etiopathogenetic mechanisms include genetic, traumatic, toxic, metabolic, infectious, nutritional, inflammatory and paraneoplastic causes. The treatment of peripheral neuropathies should primarily address their contributing causes. However, symptomatic therapy is also key in these conditions, particularly in pain relief. Several nutraceuticals have been used in the treatment of peripheral neuropathies and seem promising, due to assumed neurotrophic action, low toxicity and favorable metabolic profile. We performed a review of the literature to evaluate safety and effectiveness of nutraceutical compounds in peripheral neuropathies, focusing on the single agents for which randomized controlled trials versus placebo were performed. Vitamin B complex, alpha lipoic acid, L-acetylcarnitine,vitamin E and Coenzyme Q proved effective to different extents in neuropathic pain in polyneuropathies. They all proved less consistently effective on other neuropathic symptoms, neuropathic signs and neurophysiological parameters. All the considered compounds were tolerable even for long periods, however alpha lipoic acid at doses equal or larger than 1200 mg/die was associated with nausea and vomiting in a large number of patients
Adverse pregnancy outcomes in women exposed to gabapentin and pregabalin: data from a population-based study
No full textDistinguishing epileptic seizures from imitators: A video-based evaluation of non-epileptologist physicians
No full textObjectives: Epileptic seizures can present with various clinical manifestations, often resembling other conditions-referred to as "imitators of epileptic seizures"-making differential diagnosis challenging. Among them, psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) or functional/dissociative seizures (FDS) are particularly prevalent in females. This study aimed to evaluate the ability of various non-epileptologist physicians to distinguish epileptic seizures from imitators by viewing video recordings of several paroxysmal events. We also assessed whether variables, such as medical specialty and years of professional experience, could impact diagnostic accuracy. Materials and methods: Ten video recordings of authorized informational material were presented to non-epileptologist physicians. Five videos depicted non-epileptic events, including syncope, hyperkinetic movement disorder episodes, cataplexy, PNES/FDS, and REM behavior disorder. The remaining videos featured focal and generalized seizures. Participants completed an anonymous questionnaire to classify each event as epileptic or non-epileptic. Results: Seventy specialists (44 men, 26 women) from psychiatry (12.9%), internal medicine (12.9%), neurosurgery (14.3%), neurology (14.3%), emergency (18.6%), anesthesiology. (18.6 %) and others (7.1 %) were enrolled. The mean age was 49.9 ± 8.7 years; years of work experience were 0-20 years for 53 % and 21-40 years for 47 %. Epileptic seizures were correctly. recognized in 50.3% of cases, whereas non-epileptic paroxysmal events were. misdiagnosed in 49.7% of cases. The most accurately recognized event was tonic-clonic seizure (88.6%), while the most frequently misdiagnosed was PNES/FDS (94.3%). Discussion and conclusion: Correctly diagnosing epileptic and non-epileptic paroxysmal events can be challenging when relying solely on video recordings. This study highlights the importance of implementing training for adequate diagnosis and subsequent correct management of these conditions
Estrogen-related seizure exacerbation following hormone therapy for assisted reproduction in women with epilepsy
No full textPurpose: Exogenous estrogens might lead to seizure worsening in women with epilepsy (WWE) by lowering the seizure threshold and inducing glucuronidation in women taking lamotrigine. Assisted reproduction techniques are increasingly used and often require estrogenic and estrogen raising hormone therapy. We aimed at reporting their possible impact on seizures in WWE. Methods: We describe two cases of seizure exacerbation following hormone therapy for assisted reproduction in WWE. Results: Patient 1: 46 years old woman, with right temporal dysplasia. At 40 years she had monthly focal seizures, possibly progressing to bilateral tonic-clonic seizures, she took levetiracetam 3000/day and she underwent gonadotropin therapy for ovarian stimulation. Estrogen blood levels showed a sudden and significant rise, up to 1019 pg/ml and she had a concomitant cluster of three tonic-clonic seizures in 24 h. Patient 2: 41 years old woman with focal epilepsy of unknown etiology. At 38 years she was taking lamotrigine 450 mg/day and had been seizure free for three years. She took estradiol valerate 4 mg for 10 days for endometrial preparation for embryo transfer and had the only seizure over six years, with the exception of auras during advanced pregnancy, related to marked decrease of lamotrigine blood levels. During adjunctive concomitant therapy with clobazam, neither patient had seizures while on hormone therapy. Conclusions: Our data suggest that hormone therapy for assisted reproduction could exacerbate seizures and should be carefully monitored in WWE, especially those taking drugs inactivated by glucuronidation. Adjunctive concomitant antiepileptic therapy should be considered
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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