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)
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.
Review
Clinical Neurology
Deniz Ertan, Selma Aybek, W. Curt LaFrance, Kousuke Kanemoto, Alexis Tarrada, Louis Maillard, Wissam El-Hage, Coraline Hingray
Summary: This narrative review summarises recent studies on the aetiopathogenesis of functional seizures, discussing the multifactorial mechanisms involved in the development of FS and guiding therapy based on underlying mechanisms.
JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY NEUROSURGERY AND PSYCHIATRY
(2022)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Mohammad Dashtkoohi, Sakineh Ranji-Bourachaloo, Rozhina Pouremamali, Mohadese Dashtkoohi, Raha Zamani, Aysan Moeinafshar, Arshia Shizarpour, Shirin Shakiba, Mohammadali Babaee, Abbas Tafakhori
Summary: In this study, a new tool for identifying patients suspicious of FS was developed and showed promising results. With further analysis through prospective studies, this innovative and simple tool can be integrated into the diagnostic process of FS.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROLOGY
(2023)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Jerzy P. Szaflarski, Jane B. Allendorfer, Adam M. Goodman, Caroline G. Byington, Noah S. Philip, Stephen Correia, W. Curt LaFrance
Summary: Delay in diagnosis in patients with functional seizures is associated with fMRI changes in brain regions involved in emotion processing. The study suggests that delayed diagnosis may lead to altered brain responses to emotional stimuli.
EPILEPSY & BEHAVIOR
(2022)
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
Clinical Neurology
Megan Reid, Steven D. Mitchell, Katharine M. Mitchell, Christos Sidiropoulos
Summary: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of an intense outpatient physical rehabilitation program for patients with functional movement disorders (FMD). Results showed significant improvements in motor and gait outcomes in FMD patients treated with physical rehabilitation. These findings support the continued use of rehabilitation therapy and the need for further research on more effective multidisciplinary approaches.
JOURNAL OF THE NEUROLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Review
Health Care Sciences & Services
Soultana Papadopoulou, Efterpi Pavlidou, Georgios Argyris, Thaleia Flouda, Panagiota Koukoutsidi, Konstantinos Krikonis, Sidrah Shah, Dana Chirosca-Vasileiou, Stergios Boussios
Summary: This study explores the relationship between speech disorder-stuttering and epileptic seizures, and raises awareness of the diagnostic dilemmas and potential misdiagnosis. It emphasizes the complexity and importance of accurately detecting stuttering-induced epilepsy.
JOURNAL OF PERSONALIZED MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Zohaib Asghar, Mo Thoufeeq, Matthew Kurien, Alex J. Ball, Anupam Rej, Foong Way David Tai, Shima Afify, Imran Aziz
Summary: There is limited data on the diagnostic yield of colonoscopy in patients with symptoms compatible with functional bowel disorders (FBDs). This study aimed to determine the diagnostic outcomes of colonoscopy in FBD patients using Rome IV criteria and categorizing them based on the presence or absence of alarm features. The presence of organic disease was found to be significantly higher in patients with diarrheal disorders compared to constipation disorders, mainly due to microscopic colitis. Colonoscopy had no diagnostic value in patients without alarm features.
CLINICAL GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Andrew Whitfield
Summary: The field of functional neurology has rapidly developed in the past decade, providing research opportunities for other functional disorders and reminding trainees to be aware of these involuntary conditions in order to help patients seek appropriate help.
Article
Psychology, Clinical
Ibai Diez, Benjamin Williams, Marek R. Kubicki, Nikos Makris, David L. Perez
Summary: In this study, differences in white matter integrity were observed between FND patients and healthy controls, with specific brain regions showing correlations with symptom severity, physical disability, and illness duration. These findings provide valuable insights into the neurocircuit pathways involved in the pathophysiology of FND, particularly related to salience, defensive behaviors, and emotion regulation.
PSYCHOLOGICAL MEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Giorgia Conte, Aida Menendez-Mendez, Sebastian Bauer, Hany El-Naggar, Mariana Alves, Annette Nicke, Norman Delanty, Felix Rosenow, David C. Henshall, Tobias Engel
Summary: Circulating molecules may serve as biomarkers for epilepsy diagnosis, with P2X7 receptor (P2X7R) as a potential regulator. Experimental data suggests elevated P2X7R levels in some epilepsy patients, indicating its potential as a diagnostic marker.
Article
Clinical Neurology
Isaiah Kletenik, Samantha K. Holden, Stefan H. Sillau, Nicola O'Connell, Lindsey MacGillivray, Joel Mack, Beatrix Haddock, M. Ashworth Dirac, Anthony S. David, Timothy R. Nicholson, Sanaz N. Attaripour Isfahani, Carine W. Maurer, Sarah C. Lidstone, Mark Hallett, Kathrin LaFaver, Brian D. Berman, Jon Stone
Summary: The study found that women and men with functional movement disorders reported higher rates of sexual abuse compared to the control group. A history of childhood sexual abuse and physical abuse increased the likelihood of women developing functional movement disorders. Although no significant associations were found in men, the limited data for the male cohort may affect the reliability of the results.
JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY
(2022)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Ali A. Asadi-Pooya, Mohsen Farazdaghi
Summary: The study conducted Two-Step cluster analysis on patients with functional seizures and identified three distinct clusters with differing background risk factors.
EPILEPSY & BEHAVIOR
(2022)
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
Psychology, Clinical
Zuzana Forejtova, Tereza Serranova, Tomas Sieger, Matej Slovak, Lucia Novakova, Gabriela Vechetova, Evzen Ruzicka, Mark J. Edwards
Summary: The study explored the relationships between various symptoms in FND patients and found significant correlations between self-reported and objective measures of motor and non-motor symptoms, as well as HRQoL. Despite attempting to identify subgroups within the cohort, cluster analysis showed a homogenous patient sample, supporting the idea of a unified pathophysiology for these symptoms.
PSYCHOLOGICAL MEDICINE
(2023)
Review
Chemistry, Analytical
Mariano Bernaldo de Quiros, E. H. Douma, Inge van den Akker-scheek, Claudine J. C. Lamoth, Natasha M. Maurits
Summary: This review examines the use of wearable sensors to measure movement in stroke patients and evaluates the relationship between sensor-based outcomes and existing clinical evaluation methods. The results show that sensor-based measures provide additional information for understanding patient behavior and recovery beyond what clinical evaluations can provide.
Letter
Clinical Neurology
Anne-Catherine M. L. Huys, Patrick Haggard, Kailash P. Bhatia, Mark J. Edwards
MOVEMENT DISORDERS CLINICAL PRACTICE
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Wei Tang, Peter M. A. van Ooijen, Deborah A. Sival, Natasha M. Maurits
Summary: There are overlapping phenotypic features between Early Onset Ataxia (EOA) and Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), making their clinical distinction complicated. This study presents a framework for quantitative gait assessment using 2D video recording and pose estimation, and evaluates different normalization methods for distance-based features. The results show the potential of using routine video recordings and distance-based features for the clinical evaluation of movement in EOA and DCD.
Article
Linguistics
Vass Verkhodanova, Matt Coler, Roel Jonkers, Sanne Timmermans, Natasha Maurits, Bauke de Jong, Wander Lowie
Summary: This study investigates the relationship between listeners' perceptual judgments of speech healthiness and the acoustic changes in the speech of people with Parkinson's disease. The findings show that regardless of listeners' expertise and language background, they are more sensitive to speech rate, phonation deficiency, and vowel centralization when classifying speech as healthy or unhealthy. These findings suggest that aspects of phonation and prosody serve as prominent markers of speech healthiness for listeners, independent of their first language or expertise. This has important implications for clinical practice and the subjective perception of speech in people with Parkinson's disease.
JOURNAL OF NEUROLINGUISTICS
(2022)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Gabriela Vechetova, Tomas Nikolai, Matej Slovak, Zuzana Forejtova, Marek Vranka, Eva Strakova, Tiago Teodoro, Evzen Ruzicka, Mark J. Edwards, Tereza Serranova
Summary: This study found both subjective and objective cognitive impairments in patients with mFND, characterized primarily by attentional impairment including slow processing speed and high intra-individual variability in cognitive performance.
JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY
(2022)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Anne-Catherine M. L. Huys, Patrick Haggard, Kailash P. Bhatia, Mark J. Edwards
Summary: This study aimed to test whether patients with functional tremor exaggerate their symptom perception and reporting. The results showed that compared to patients with organic tremor and healthy controls, patients with functional tremor did not perceive or report their tremor to be exaggerated.
JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY
(2022)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Mirta Fiorio, Miriam Braga, Angela Marotta, Bernardo Villa-Sanchez, Mark J. Edwards, Michele Tinazzi, Diletta Barbiani
Summary: Functional neurological disorder (FND) refers to neurological symptoms that cannot be explained by structural neurological causes. The Bayesian predictive coding model suggests that perception relies on top-down cortical predictions to infer sensory information. This model may also apply to placebo and nocebo effects. The relationship between FND and placebo and nocebo effects extends beyond diagnosis and treatment, and shared cognitive, personality, and neuroanatomical factors may be involved. This new perspective offers potential insights into the pathogenesis of FND and the identification of therapeutic targets.
NATURE REVIEWS NEUROLOGY
(2022)
Article
Mathematics, Applied
Gerk Rozema, Arthur E. P. Veldman, Natasha M. Maurits
Summary: This paper describes the challenges of numerical coupling in multiphysics problems, particularly in the simulation of blood flow in compliant arteries. It analyzes the coupling between fluid flow and elastic vessel walls, as well as the coupling between a detailed 3D local flow model and a global 0D model representing global circulation. Different coupling approaches, both weak and strong, are studied, and their numerical stability limitations are discussed. The quasi-simultaneous coupling method, originally developed for partitioned problems in aerodynamics, is shown to be a robust and flexible approach for hemodynamic applications.
APPLIED NUMERICAL MATHEMATICS
(2023)
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Graziella Eshuis, Hiske van Duinen, Otto T. H. M. Lelieveld, Anneke K. Hegeman, Hessel Nijenhuis, Tineke P. Willems, Ann M. Hepping, Natasha Maurits, Gideon du Marchie J. Sarvaas, Rolf M. F. Berger
Summary: This study aimed to compare muscle strength in pediatric patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot to healthy peers and analyze the correlation between muscle strength and peak oxygen uptake, exercise capacity. The study found that children with repaired tetralogy of Fallot have reduced muscle strength, which strongly correlates with their exercise performance.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION
(2023)
Review
Medicine, General & Internal
Nick Eleveld, Diana C. Esquivel-Franco, Gea Drost, Anthony R. Absalom, Clark J. Zeebregts, Jean-Paul P. M. de Vries, Jan Willem J. Elting, Natasha M. Maurits
Summary: Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a non-invasive technique used to measure tissue haemoglobin concentrations and oxygen saturation. However, the influence of extracerebral tissue on NIRS measurements is not clear. A systematic review of published studies was conducted, revealing that extracerebral tissue does influence NIRS measurements, but the evidence varies across studies.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Louise Marston, Marie Le Novere, Federico Ricciardi, Irwin Nazareth, Alan Carson, Mark Edwards, Laura H. Goldstein, Jonathan Marsden, Hayley Noble, Markus Reuber, Jon Stone, Rachael M. Hunter, Glenn Nielsen
Summary: Functional motor disorder (FMD) is a common neurological condition that causes symptoms such as weakness and tremor. The Physio4FMD trial aims to evaluate the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of specialist physiotherapy for FMD. The trial was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to disruptions in the treatment of participants. The analysis plans have been adjusted to account for these disruptions and maintain the integrity of the trial while providing meaningful results.
CONTEMPORARY CLINICAL TRIALS COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Anna Sadnicka, Mark John Edwards
MOVEMENT DISORDERS
(2023)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Sara A. Finkelstein, Alan Carson, Mark J. Edwards, Kasia Kozlowska, Sarah C. Lidstone, David L. Perez, Ginger Polich, Jon Stone, Selma Aybek
NEUROLOGIC CLINICS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Toivo Glatz, Wim Tops, Elisabeth Borleffs, Ulla Richardson, Natasha Maurits, Annemie Desoete, Ben Maassen
Summary: This study evaluates the effectiveness of a digital game-based learning tool for beginning readers of Dutch. Through a randomized controlled trial involving 247 first graders, the study found that the literacy game improved letter knowledge for all children in the classroom. Additionally, children with high phonological awareness were more fluent readers after extensive exposure to the reading game. This study is one of the first to use game-generated data for evaluating digital game-based learning for literacy interventions.