Highlights from the most recent issue of Epilepsy Currents

American Epilepsy SocietyJul 15 2015

The latest issue of Epilepsy Currents is now available featuring expert commentary on abstracts in basic science and clinical topics.

Here are some highlights from the latest issue of Epilepsy Currents Vol. 15, no. 3:

•Parsing the Neurological Underpinnings of Emotional Awareness
Social cognition in patients with unilateral refractory temporal lobe epilepsy depends heavily on intelligence level and is not influenced by the side of brain affected, according to a 2014 study by Amlerova and colleagues in Epilepsy and Behavior. A Commentary by Frank Gilliam, MD, MPH, highlights the key findings of this study - including evidence that temporal lobe surgery may not reduce patients' ability to recognize facial displays of emotion - and underscores the need to incorporate social cognition tests in routine neuropsychological assessments of persons with epilepsy. Such assessments could guide interventions to enhance the quality of personal relationships and other facets of everyday life, such as job performance.

•A Master Plan for Seizure Dynamics
Epileptic seizures are spontaneous and recurrent in nature, making it difficult to develop predictive tools. In a 2014 study in the journal Brain, Viktor K. Jirsa and colleagues unveiled a mathematical model known as Epileptor and used the model to illustrate how seizures unfold in a variety of physiological conditions. A Commentary by Ivan Raikov, PhD, and Ivan Soltesz, PhD, describes Epileptor's inner workings and explains how the model simulates neuronal interactions before and during seizures to create a predictive theory of seizure dynamics that applies to all types of epilepsy.

•Unexpected Psychosocial Outcomes of Childhood Epilepsies
Parents of children with epilepsy often question physicians about the future: Will the seizures respond to medication? Will the epilepsy be outgrown? How will the child fare in terms of learning and development? For at least one group of patients - those with childhood absence epilepsy, juvenile absence epilepsy, juvenile myoclonic epilepsy, and generalized epilepsy with generalized tonic-clonic seizures - the answers seem relatively straightforward, as these children tend to respond well to medication and exhibit normal intellect. But a Current Review by Katherine Nickels, MD, highlights findings suggesting that children with these epilepsies may not fare as well as previously thought. Patients with childhood absence epilepsy, for example, are significantly more likely than their healthy peers to experience inattentiveness, learning disorders, anxiety, and depression. Nickels reviews the literature surrounding these outcomes, discusses possible causes, and highlights the need to recognize and address these hidden consequences of epilepsy.