Article
Behavioral Sciences
Filiz Azman Iste, M. Ilker Yon, F. Irsel Tezer, Serap Saygi
Summary: This study investigated the frequency of ictal crying in epileptic seizures (ESs) and psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNESs), highlighting the differences between the two. The study also analyzed the etiology, symptoms, treatment options, and prognosis of ictal crying in ESs. Results showed that all patients in the ES group had refractory focal epilepsy, and some achieved good outcomes through surgical treatment.
EPILEPSY & BEHAVIOR
(2023)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Ali A. Asadi-Pooya, Mohsen Farazdaghi
Summary: The study compared auras among different groups of epilepsy patients and found that patients with TLE were more likely to experience auras, with emotional, cognitive, epigastric, and olfactory/gustatory auras being common. Patients with FS were more likely to experience headache and dizziness/vertigo as auras.
SEIZURE-EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF EPILEPSY
(2021)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Ali A. Asadi-Pooya, Zohreh Barzegar
Summary: This study investigated the marital status among patients with seizures and found that the rates of being married were not significantly different between epilepsy and functional seizures patients, but were significantly lower than the general population in Iran. Cross-cultural similarities and differences in marriage rates should be further explored in large multicenter international studies.
EPILEPSY & BEHAVIOR
(2021)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Ali A. Asadi-Pooya, Mohsen Farazdaghi
Summary: The study found that most patients with seizures do not drive a motor vehicle in their routine daily lives, and demographic factors such as sex, marital status, and education are significantly associated with not driving a motor vehicle.
EPILEPSY & BEHAVIOR
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Cansel Ficici, Ziya Telatar, Osman Erogul
Summary: In this study, a method for automated discrimination of patients with psychogenic nonepileptic seizure (PNES) and epileptic seizure, as well as healthy subjects, from EEG signals is proposed to eliminate misdiagnosis and the time-consuming EEG examination. Experimental results show that the method achieves high accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity in classification and discrimination.
BIOMEDICAL SIGNAL PROCESSING AND CONTROL
(2022)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Ali A. Asadi-Pooya, Mohsen Farazdaghi, Hanieh Asadi-Pooya, Khatereh Fazelian
Summary: We investigated the rates of positive screening for ADHD in adults with different types of seizures. The screening results showed that 35% of patients with functional seizures, 30% of those with focal epilepsy, and 10% of patients with idiopathic generalized epilepsy had positive ADHD screening results. This suggests that adult patients with functional seizures and focal epilepsy have a higher risk of ADHD symptoms.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Psychiatry
Mahdi Malekpour, Aida Jafari, Mohammad Kashkooli, Seyed Reza Salarikia, Manica Negahdaripour
Summary: Using a systems biology approach, this study identified different proteins and hormones associated with psychogenic non-epileptic seizure (PNES) and constructed a protein-hormone interaction network related to PNES pathogenesis. The study also discovered the relationship between PNES-related molecules and psychiatric diseases, as well as brain regions that could express altered levels of blood proteins. These findings provide important insights for future molecular research on PNES patients.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHIATRY
(2023)
Review
Clinical Neurology
Jigar Patel, Quincy K. Tran, Santiago Martinez, Halley Wright, Ali Pourmand
Summary: This meta-analysis found that serum lactate levels can be a valuable tool in differentiating generalized tonic-clonic seizures (GTCS) from other forms of transient loss of consciousness (TLOC) in the emergency department.
SEIZURE-EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF EPILEPSY
(2022)
Article
Pediatrics
Li-Ping Zhang, Yu Jia, Hao Huang, Da-Wei Li, Yu-Ping Wang
Summary: Children with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures exhibit various symptoms, with motor symptoms being the most prevalent. Family issues are identified as a risk factor for seizures. Epilepsy is the most common neurological comorbidity associated with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures.
FRONTIERS IN PEDIATRICS
(2021)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Ali A. Asadi-Pooya, Massimiliano Beghi, Gaston Baslet
Summary: The relationship between functional seizures and sexual trauma has been studied, but the mechanisms remain unclear. Speculatively, genetic factors and childhood sexual trauma may interact to increase the risk of functional seizures, particularly in women. Additionally, beyond predisposing towards FS, a history of sexual trauma has broader implications.
NEUROSCIENCE AND BIOBEHAVIORAL REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Matilda Ahl, Marie K. Taylor, Una Avdic, Anna Lundin, My Andersson, Asa Amandusson, Eva Kumlien, Maria Compagno Strandberg, Christine T. Ekdahl
Summary: Inflammatory processes can trigger epileptic seizures, and seizures can promote an immune reaction. Therefore, the systemic immune reaction can be used as a diagnostic and prognostic marker in epilepsy. This study investigated the immune response before and after epileptic and psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES). The results showed increased levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) between seizures in patients with temporal or frontal lobe epilepsy (TLE or FLE) or TLE + PNES, compared to controls. The IL-6 levels further increased after a seizure (postictally) in TLE patients only. The study suggests that immune factors have the potential to be biomarkers for epileptic seizures and can help distinguish between different types of seizures.
Review
Genetics & Heredity
Ali A. Asadi-Pooya, Mark Hallett, Nafiseh Mirzaei Damabi, Khatereh Fazelian Dehkordi, Xingguang Luo
Summary: This scoping systematic review examines the evidence on the genetics of functional seizures and proposes ways to advance the field. The findings show that patients with functional seizures carry pathogenic/likely pathogenic variants and have significant correlations with genes in various signaling pathways. Additionally, there are significant genotype differences in FKBP5 single nucleotide polymorphisms between patients with functional seizures and controls, as well as patients with depression.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Ali A. Asadi-Pooya, Mehdi Bazrafshan
Summary: This study found that unemployment is a serious issue among patients with FS, and psychiatric comorbidities play a significant role in their employment status.
BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR
(2021)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Divyani Garg, Ayush Agarwal, Varun Malhotra, Anup Kumar Thacker, Ajai Kumar Singh, Mamta Bhushan Singh, Achal Kumar Srivastava
Summary: This study compared the efficiency of four PNES classification systems and found that pseudosyncope/dialeptic/non-motor semiology was the most frequent. Most patients with PNES had stereotyped semiology. All events could be classified using the schemes by Asadi-Pooya and Wadweker et al.
EPILEPSY & BEHAVIOR
(2021)
Article
Psychiatry
Ali A. Asadi-Pooya, Mohammad Kashkooli, Anahita Asadi-Pooya, Mahdi Malekpour, Aida Jafari
Summary: This study developed the best algorithm using machine learning methods to differentiate comorbid functional seizures and pure functional seizures, with the TabNet classifier performing the best. The results suggest that the algorithm could be useful in clinical practice, particularly in distinguishing patients with FS and those with comorbid epilepsy.
JOURNAL OF PSYCHOSOMATIC RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Heather Angus-Leppan, Michael R. Sperling, Vicente Villanueva
Summary: Up to 10% of people over the age of 80 experience seizures, and many do not require anti-seizure medication. The diagnosis is often made based on the patient's medical history. Targeted investigations are important for classification and risk prediction. Patients with a low risk of seizure recurrence do not usually need medication, while high-risk patients with multiple seizures and other symptoms are offered medication. Future technologies may offer better seizure monitoring and prediction, but they are not yet reliable or convenient. Therapeutic drug monitoring can be useful in confirming medication toxicity or identifying causes of breakthrough seizures. Current evidence does not support routine monitoring of medication levels. The decision to discontinue medication should be made after a discussion with the patient, considering their individual risks and preferences. Medication is usually discontinued gradually after at least two years of remission, and patients need specialist follow-up during this time.
JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY
(2023)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Ali A. Asadi-Pooya, Wesley T. Kerr, Ioannis Karakis, Kousuke Kanemoto, Anilu Daza-Restrepo, Mohsen Farazdaghi, Faith J. Horbatch, Nicholas J. Beimer, Dawn E. Eliashiv, Aida Risman, Yuko Sugimoto, Brenda Giagante
Summary: The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between radiologically apparent brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) abnormalities and functional seizure (FS) semiology. Patients with FS from various epilepsy centers were included in the study. The results showed no significant association between the location of brain abnormalities and FS semiology, suggesting that further research is needed to understand the underlying causes of varying behaviors in FS.
BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR
(2023)
Editorial Material
Clinical Neurology
Jo M. Wilmshurst, Michael R. Sperling
Editorial Material
Clinical Neurology
Pavel Klein, Gregory L. Krauss, Bernhard J. Steinhoff, Orrin Devinsky, Michael R. Sperling
Summary: Despite the approval of numerous antiseizure medications (ASMs), a significant number of epilepsy patients still experience seizures. Two new ASMs, cenobamate and fenfluramine, have shown improved efficacy in reducing seizures with sustained results. However, these medications are underutilized, likely due to limited knowledge, access restrictions, and insufficient post-launch information about their efficacy and safety. Addressing these issues can improve seizure control and ultimately reduce morbidity and mortality in epilepsy patients.
Article
Clinical Neurology
Mahdi Malekpour, Seyed Reza Salarikia, Mohammad Kashkooli, Ali A. Asadi-Pooya
Summary: This study aimed to explore the underlying pathomechanisms of the comorbidity between three common systemic autoimmune disorders (IDDM, SLE, and RA) and TLE using bioinformatics tools. The results revealed shared genetic variations between TLE and the three autoimmune disorders. These shared genetic variations may provide insights for targeted therapies for TLE patients with comorbid autoimmune disorders.
Article
Clinical Neurology
Ali A. Asadi-Pooya, Mohsen Farazdaghi, Hanieh Asadi-Pooya, Khatereh Fazelian
Summary: This study investigated the rates of positive screening for depression, anxiety, stress, and suicide risk in different groups of adults with seizures. The results showed that patients with functional seizures had higher rates of depression and anxiety compared to those with epilepsy, while the rates of stress and suicide risk did not significantly differ between the groups. Therefore, specific validated scales to screen for psychiatric comorbidities and suicide risk should be included as integral components in the evaluation and treatment of patients with seizures.
ACTA NEUROLOGICA BELGICA
(2023)
Review
Clinical Neurology
Adriana Boschi Moreira, Andre Enoch Knochenhauer, Giullia Victoria Froehner, Marcelo Liborio Schwarzbold, Ali Akbar Asadi-Pooya, Izabel Galhardo Demarchi, Francesco Brigo, Katia Lin
Summary: This systematic review aimed to evaluate the prevalence of injuries caused by functional seizures (FS). The analysis of the literature revealed different prevalence rates of injuries due to FS in different time periods and types, challenging the notion that only epileptic seizures can cause injuries.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Ali A. Asadi-Pooya, Francesco Brigo, Eugen Trinka, Simona Lattanzi, Nirmeen Adel Kishk, Ioannis Karakis, Aleksandar J. Ristic, Taoufik Alsaadi, Modhi Alkhaldi, Saule T. Turuspekova, Ghaieb Aljandeel, Abdullah Al-Asmi, Guilca Contreras, Anilu Daza-Restrepo, Mansur A. Kutlubaev, Alla Guekht, Yamile Calle-Lopez, Asel Jusupova, Daniel San-juan, Samson G. Khachatryan, David Gigineishvili, Boulenouar Mesraoua, Andriy Dubenko, Nafiseh Mirzaei Damabi, Int Res Epilepsy IR-Epil Consortium
Summary: This study investigates the opinions of neurologists and psychiatrists worldwide who are caring for patients with seizures. A total of 1003 physicians participated in the study and identified seizures as their preferred term, with "psychogenic" and "functional" being the most preferred modifiers. The study also found that functional seizures were considered more difficult to treat than epilepsy, and psychotherapy was the preferred treatment option.
EPILEPSY & BEHAVIOR
(2023)
Review
Behavioral Sciences
Mohsen Farjoud Kouhanjani, Hossein Akbarialiabad, Ali A. Asadi-Pooya
Summary: This systematic review aimed to investigate the potential risks of living under the sea or in space for patients with epilepsy. Currently, there is no evidence to support any recommendations regarding living in extreme environments for individuals with epilepsy. Further research is needed to comprehensively understand the potential risks associated with such conditions.
EPILEPSY & BEHAVIOR
(2023)
Letter
Clinical Neurology
Ali A. Asadi-Pooya
Article
Clinical Neurology
Negar Firouzabadi, Ali A. Asadi-Pooya, Nahid Alimoradi, Leila Simani, Marjan Asadollahi
Summary: In this study, the association between the NR3C1 gene rs41423247 polymorphism and functional seizures was investigated. The results showed that the G allele carriers were more frequent in patients with functional seizures and those with major depressive disorder. However, there was no significant difference in allele distributions between functional seizures and major depressive disorder groups.
Article
Clinical Neurology
Ali A. Asadi-Pooya, Davood Fattahi, Nahid Abolpour, Reza Boostani, Mohsen Farazdaghi, Mehrdad Sharifi
Summary: The study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of using easily accessible clinical information to differentiate between idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE) and focal epilepsy using machine learning methods. The dataset was divided into train and test subsets, and different classifiers were assessed. The stacking classifier showed better results and had high precision, sensitivity, and specificity.
Letter
Clinical Neurology
Ali A. Asadi-Pooya
Article
Clinical Neurology
Shennan A. Weiss, Itzhak Fried, Jerome Engel, Anatol Bragin, Shuang Wang, Michael R. Sperling, Robert K. S. Wong, Yuval Nir, Richard J. Staba
Summary: This study confirmed that pathological high frequency oscillations (pHFOs) occur during the UP-DOWN transition of slow wave activity and disrupt temporal correlations between brain regions. These findings suggest that pHFOs may interfere with information transmission and memory consolidation.
Article
Clinical Neurology
Levente Hadady, Michael R. Sperling, Juan Luis Alcala-Zermeno, Jacqueline A. French, Patricia Dugan, Lara Jehi, Daniel Fabo, Peter Klivenyi, Guido Rubboli, Sandor Beniczky
Summary: This study conducted external validation of previously published epilepsy surgery prediction tools using a large independent multicenter dataset and found that these tools can effectively stratify patients for surgery and freedom from disabling seizures.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Thomas Johnstone, Maria Isabel Barros Guinle, Gerald A. Grant, Brenda E. Porter
Summary: The study aimed to evaluate the safety and impact of Dexmedetomidine Hydrochloride (DH) administration during pediatric invasive intracranial electroencephalography (IEEG). The results showed that DH administration was not associated with adverse events and did not significantly affect the frequency of seizures captured on the IEEG and the duration of hospitalization.
EPILEPSY & BEHAVIOR
(2024)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Sabra Zaraa, H. Steve White, Andy Stergachis, Edward Novotny Jr, Chris Protos, Grant Simic, Jennifer L. Bacci
Summary: This study used design thinking to develop a community pharmacist-led intervention for people living with epilepsy. Four features - pharmacist-patient consultations, care plan development, regular check-ins, and care coordination with other health care providers - were identified as desirable, feasible, and viable for the intervention. The study highlights the importance of involving pharmacists in epilepsy care and provides evidence-based features for such interventions.
EPILEPSY & BEHAVIOR
(2024)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Bofei Tan, Qiang Liu, Yameng Qin, Qiuyan Chen, Rong Chen, Yanzi Jin, Mengyun Li, Xiaodan Jia, Xianrui Xu, Qing Zhang
Summary: The purpose of this study was to identify factors associated with insomnia in patients with epilepsy. The results showed that nocturnal seizures and anxiety were independently associated with insomnia in these patients. Patients with epilepsy and insomnia were more likely to experience depression and excessive daytime sleepiness.
EPILEPSY & BEHAVIOR
(2024)
