Frank W. Drislane

American Clinical Neurophysiology Society's Standardized Critical Care EEG Terminology: 2012 version.

Continuous EEG Monitoring is becoming a commonly used tool in assessing brain function in critically ill patients. However, there is no uniformly accepted nomenclature for EEG patterns frequently encountered in these patients such as periodic discharges, fluctuating rhythmic patterns, and combinatio

EEG and ECG in Sudden Unexplained Death in Epilepsy

Summary:  Purpose: Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) is a major cause of mortality for patients with epilepsy. Cardiac factors may be involved and were evaluated in this study.

The ACNS subcommittee on research terminology for continuous EEG monitoring: proposed standardized terminology for rhythmic and periodic EEG patterns encountered in critically ill patients.

Continuous EEG monitoring is becoming a commonly usedtool in the assessment of brain function in critically illpatients. However, there is no uniformly accepted nomencla-ture for the EEG patterns frequently encountered in thesepatients, such as periodic discharges, fluctuating rhythmicpatterns, and combinations thereof. Similarly, there is noconsensus regarding which patterns are associated with on-going neuronal injury, which needs to be treated, or howaggressively to treat them. The first step in addressing theseissues is to standardize terminology to allow multicenterresearch projects and to facilitate communication. To thisend, we gathered a group of electroencephalographers withparticular expertise or interest in this area to develop stan-dardized terminology to be used primarily in the researchsetting. One of the main goals was to eliminate terms withclinical connotations, intended or not, such as “triphasicwaves,” a term that implies a metabolic encephalopathy withno relationship to seizures. We also decided to avoid the useof “ictal,” “interictal,” and “epileptiform” for the equivocalpatterns that are the primary focus of this report.A standardized method of quantifying interictal dis-charges is also included for the same reasons, with no attemptto alter the existing definition of epileptiform discharges(sharpwavesandspikes Noachtaretal.,1999 .Similarly,weare not necessarily suggesting abandonment of prior termssuch as periodic lateralized epileptiform discharges (PLEDs)and triphasic waves for clinical use.This is a proposal subject to future modifications basedon use and feedback from others.

Depth of EEG Suppression and Outcome in Barbiturate Anesthetic Treatment for Refractory Status Epilepticus

Summary: Purpose: Barbiturate anesthetic treatment of patients with refractory status epilepticus (RSE) is often titrated to a burst‐suppression record on the EEG. We sought to determine whether the depth of EEG suppression correlated with persistent seizure control in such patients.

Differential effects of antiepileptic drugs on sexual function and hormones in men with epilepsy

Objective: To compare sexual function and reproductive hormone levels among men with epilepsy who took various antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), untreated men with epilepsy, and normal controls. Methods: Subjects were 85 men with localization-related epilepsy (25 on carbamazepine [CBZ], 25 on phenytoin [PHT], 25 on lamotrigine [LTG], and 10 untreated for at least 6 months [no AED]) and 25 controls. Sexual function scores (S-scores), hormone levels (bioactive testosterone, estradiol), hormone ratios (bioactive testosterone/bioactive estradiol), and gonadal efficiency (bioactive testosterone/luteinizing hormone) were compared among the five groups. Results: S-scores, bioactive testosterone levels, bioactive testosterone/bioactive estradiol, and bioactive testosterone/luteinizing hormone were significantly greater in the control and LTG groups than in the CBZ and PHT groups. Sex hormone binding globulin was significantly higher in the CBZ and PHT groups than in all other groups. S-scores were below the control range in 20% of the men with epilepsy, including 32.0% on CBZ, 24% on PHT, 20% on no AEDs, and 4% on LTG (χ2: p = 0.08 for all four groups; χ2: p = 0.02 for the three AED groups). Bioactive testosterone was below the control range in 28.2%, including 48% on CBZ, 28% on PHT, 20% on no AEDs, and 12% on LTG (χ2: p = 0.02). Among men with epilepsy who had low S-scores, 70.6% had bioactive testosterone levels below the control range as compared to 17.6% among men with normal S-scores (χ2: p < 0.0001). Among men with epilepsy who had abnormally low bioactive testosterone, 50.0% had low S-scores; among men with normal bioactive testosterone, 8.2% had low S-scores (χ2: p < 0.0001). Bioactive testosterone decline with age was significantly greater among men with epilepsy than among controls and notably greater in the CBZ and PHT groups than in the LTG and untreated groups. Conclusions: Sexual function, bioavailable testosterone levels, and gonadal efficiency in men with epilepsy who took lamotrigine were comparable to control and untreated values and significantly greater than with carbamazepine or phenytoin treatment.

Consensus Statement on Continuous EEG in Critically Ill Adults and Children, Part I: Indications

Introduction: Critical Care Continuous EEG (CCEEG) is a common procedure to monitor brain function in patients with altered mental status in intensive care units. There is significant variability in patient populations undergoing CCEEG and in technical specifications for CCEEG performance. Methods: The Critical Care Continuous EEG Task Force of the American Clinical Neurophysiology Society developed expert consensus recommendations on the use of CCEEG in critically ill adults and children. Recommendations: The consensus panel recommends CCEEG for diagnosis of nonconvulsive seizures, nonconvulsive status epilepticus, and other paroxysmal events, and for assessment of the efficacy of therapy for seizures and status epilepticus. The consensus panel suggests CCEEG for identification of ischemia in patients at high risk for cerebral ischemia; for assessment of level of consciousness in patients receiving intravenous sedation or pharmacologically induced coma; and for prognostication in patients after cardiac arrest. For each indication, the consensus panel describes the patient populations for which CCEEG is indicated, evidence supporting use of CCEEG, utility of video and quantitative EEG trends, suggested timing and duration of CCEEG, and suggested frequency of review and interpretation. Conclusion: CCEEG has an important role in detection of secondary injuries such as seizures and ischemia in critically ill adults and children with altered mental status.

Altered pulsatile secretion of luteinizing hormone in women with epilepsy

Menstrual disorders and infertility are common among women with epilepsy of temporal lobe origin (TLE). Reproductive endocrine disorders may be the cause. Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCO) and hypothalamic amenorrhea (hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, HH), in particular, are significantly overrepresented and attributable to hypothalamic dysfunction. We therefore compared the hypothalamic function of 14 women with clinically and electrographically documented TLE with that of eight age-matched normal controls by determining the interictal pulse frequency and amplitude of luteinizing hormone (LH) secretion. Serum for LH measurement was drawn every 15 minutes from 8 AM to 4 PM in both groups. LH pulse frequency values were significantly more variable (p < 0.05) and lower (p < 0.05) among women with TLE than among controls. Women with left temporal EEG foci showed a trend toward higher pulse frequencies compared to women with right foci (p = 0.05 to 0.10). Among five women with reproductive endocrine disorders, the three with PCO had left-sided foci and average LH pulse frequency two times higher than that of the two women with HH, who had right-sided foci. Eight reproductively normal, medically treated women with TLE had significantly lower LH pulse frequencies than did the one reproductively normal, untreated woman with TLE (p < 0.05) and the eight normal controls (p < 0.001). These findings suggest that LH pulse frequencies in women with TLE may be influenced by the laterality of the epileptic focus, the reproductive endocrine status, and the use of antiseizure medications.

Duration of refractory status epilepticus and outcome: Loss of prognostic utility after several hours

Purpose:  Outcome for patients with status epilepticus (SE) depends strongly on etiology. Duration of SE is also predictive, at least in the first 2 h, but beyond this it is unclear that duration of SE influences outcome significantly. We sought to determine the influence of duration of SE on outcome in patients with prolonged SE, and to compare this influence with that of other factors.

Relapse and Survival After Barbiturate Anesthetic Treatment of Refractory Status Epilepticus

Summary: Purpose: Pentobarbital is standard treatment for refractory status epilepticus (SE) and is almost uniformly effective, but the morbidity of treatment and the mortality of refractory SE are high. Recurrence of SE after pentobarbital discontinuation may predict a worsened outcome. We sought to determine the optimal use of barbiturate anesthetic treatment of refractory SE.

Interictal EEG discharges, reproductive hormones, and menstrual disorders in epilepsy

We evaluated reproductive endocrine function in women with unilateral temporolimbic epilepsy and normal control subjects to assess the effects of epilepsy, epilepsy laterality, and antiepileptic drug use on the cerebral regulation of hormonal secretion. The findings indicate that reproductive endocrine function differs between women with epilepsy and normal control subjects. Significant differences exist at all levels of the reproductive neuroendocrine axis, that is, hypothalamus, pituitary, and peripheral gland. Differences show significant relationships to the epilepsy itself as well as to medication use. Reproductive neuroendocrine changes occur in a stochastic manner such that the laterality of unilateral temporolimbic discharges is associated with predictable directional changes in hormonal secretion at all levels of the reproductive neuroendocrine axis. These directional changes are consistent with the finding that different reproductive disorders may develop in relation to left‐ and right‐sided temporolimbic epilepsy. Hormonal changes can show close temporal relationship to the occurrence of interictal epileptiform discharges and may vary in relation to the laterality of the discharges. Antiepileptic drugs differ in their effects on reproductive hormone levels. There are notable differences between enzyme‐inducing and noninducing drugs. Menstrual disorders are more common among women with interictal discharges as well as women with abnormal hormonal findings. Ann Neurol 2003;54:625–637