| 1. |
- Baumgartner, T., et al.
(författare)
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A survey of the European Reference Network EpiCARE on clinical practice for selected rare epilepsies
- 2021
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Ingår i: Epilepsia Open. - : Wiley. - 2470-9239. ; 6:1, s. 160-170
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: Clinical care of rare and complex epilepsies is challenging, because evidence-based treatment guidelines are scarce, the experience of many physicians is limited, and interdisciplinary treatment of comorbidities is required. The pathomechanisms of rare epilepsies are, however, increasingly understood, which potentially fosters novel targeted therapies. The objectives of our survey were to obtain an overview of the clinical practice in European tertiary epilepsy centers treating patients with 5 arbitrarily selected rare epilepsies and to get an estimate of potentially available patients for future studies. Methods: Members of the European Reference Network for rare and complex epilepsies (EpiCARE) were invited to participate in a web-based survey on clinical practice of patients with Dravet syndrome, tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC), autoimmune encephalitis, and progressive myoclonic epilepsies including Unverricht Lundborg and Unverricht-like diseases. A consensus-based questionnaire was generated for each disease. Results: Twenty-six of 30 invited epilepsy centers participated. Cohorts were present in most responding centers for TSC (87%), Dravet syndrome (85%), and autoimmune encephalitis (71%). Patients with TSC and Dravet syndrome represented the largest cohorts in these centers. The antiseizure drug treatments were rather consistent across the centers especially with regard to Dravet syndrome, infantile spasms in TSC, and Unverricht Lundborg / Unverricht-like disease. Available, widely used targeted therapies included everolimus in TSC and immunosuppressive therapies in autoimmune encephalitis. Screening for comorbidities was routinely done, but specific treatment protocols were lacking in most centers. Significance: The survey summarizes the current clinical practice for selected rare epilepsies in tertiary European epilepsy centers and demonstrates consistency as well as heterogeneity in the treatment, underscoring the need for controlled trials and recommendations. The survey also provides estimates for potential participants of clinical trials recruited via EpiCARE, emphasizing the great potential of Reference Networks for future studies to evaluate new targeted therapies and to identify novel biomarkers. © 2020 The Authors. Epilepsia Open published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International League Against Epilepsy
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| 2. |
- Elisak, M., et al.
(författare)
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Anti-NMDAR Antibodies in Demyelinating Diseases
- 2017
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Ingår i: Ceska a Slovenska Neurologie a Neurochirurgie. - : Care Comm. - 1210-7859 .- 1802-4041. ; 80:3, s. 332-335
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Introduction: Antibodies against N-methyl D-aspartate receptor (anti-NMDAR) are directly pathogenic autoantibodies associated with encephalitis. Cases reporting the presence of anti-NMDAR antibodies associated with a demyelinating disease have been published, some without symptoms of NMDAR encephalitis. The aim of our study was to describe characteristics of a demyelinating disease in patients with anti-NMDAR antibodies. Material and methods: Anti-NMDAR antibodies were investigated in the serum and cerebrospinal fluid of patients with clinically suspected autoimmune encephalitis by indirect immunofluorescence using cell-based assay on fixed cells transfected for the antigen. The clinical course and MRI findings consistent with a demyelinating disease were assessed in accordance with the current diagnostic criteria. Results: Eleven patients with autoimmune encephalitis and positive anti-NMDAR were identified between 2012 to 2015. Ten of them met criteria of NMDAR encephalitis, one patient had an acute onset (de novo status epilepticus) with MRI and CSF findings corresponding with acute disseminated encephalomyelitis and regression following corticosteroid treatment. Subsequently, due to MRI dynamics, this patient met the criteria of multiple sclerosis. One patient with NMDAR encephalitis developed an optic neuritis 20 months later and MRI showed demyelinating changes with dissemination in time and space. Following corticosteroid and azathioprine treatment, the patient is clinically stable but with persisting MRI disease activity. In both patients, demyelinating lesions were also identified in the spinal cord. Conclusion: In patients with an atypical manifestation of a demyelinating disease (prominent psychiatric or cognitive symptoms, seizures or extrapyramidal signs) anti-NMDAR testing should be performed and an appropriate immunotherapy should be started in positive cases. In some patients, NMDAR encephalitis may result in an onset of a demyelinating disease.
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| 3. |
- Elisak, M., et al.
(författare)
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The prevalence of neural antibodies in temporal lobe epilepsy and the clinical characteristics of seropositive patients
- 2018
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Ingår i: Seizure. - : Elsevier BV. - 1059-1311. ; 63, s. 1-6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose Epileptic seizures are a common manifestation of autoimmune encephalitis, but the role of neural antibodies in long-term epilepsy remains unclear. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of neural-surface antibodies (NSAbs) and antibodies against glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) in patients with chronic temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). Method Patients with an electro-clinical diagnosis of TLE and a disease duration longer than one year were included. NSAbs (LGI1, CASPR2, AMPAR1/2, NMDAR, GABABR) and antibodies against GAD were detected. Only patients with significant antibody levels in serum, and/or positivity in CSF (according to antibody subtype), were enrolled in the seropositive group. Cohorts of seropositive and seronegative patients were compared regarding clinical and imaging data. Results Significant serum levels of antibodies were detected in eight out of 163 (5%) TLE patients (CASPR2 n=2, GAD n=3, LGI1 n=2, and GABABR n=1). In four of them, antibodies were detected in the CSF as well (CASPR2 in one, GAD in three). Five seropositive patients had uni- or bilateral temporal lobe lesions on MRI and three patients were non-lesional. All seropositive patients had TLE of unknown cause. Seropositive patients had higher age at epilepsy onset and autoimmune comorbidity, but did not differ in other clinical, EEG or neuroimaging characteristics. Response to immunotherapy (seizure reduction >50%) was observed in three of the six patients treated. Conclusions: Besides older age at epilepsy onset and autoimmune comorbidity, seropositive patients cannot be distinguished from seronegative patients on the basis of clinical, EEG or neuroimaging data.
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| 4. |
- Stevens-Jones, Oskar, et al.
(författare)
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Paraneoplastic or not? Sirtuin 2 in anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor encephalitis
- 2023
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Ingår i: European Journal of Neurology. - 1351-5101. ; 30:10, s. 3228-3235
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background and purpose: N-methyl- d- aspartate receptor (NMDAR) and leucine-rich glioma-inactivated protein 1 (LGI1) encephalitis are important types of autoimmune encephalitis (AE) with significant morbidity. In this study, we used a proteomic approach in search of novel clinically relevant biomarkers in these types of encephalitides. Methods: Swedish and Czech tertiary neuroimmunology centers collaborated in this retrospective exploratory study. Fifty-eight cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples of 28 patients with AE (14 definite NMDAR, 14 with definite LGI1 encephalitis) and 30 controls were included. CSF samples were analyzed using proximity extension assay technology (Olink Target 96 Inflammation panel). For each CSF sample, 92 proteins were measured. Clinical variables were retrospectively collected, and correlations with protein levels were statistically analyzed. Results: Patients and controls differed significantly in the following 18 biomarkers: TNFRSF9, TNFRSF12, TNFRSF14, TNF beta, TNF alpha, IL7, IL10, IL12B, IFN gamma, CD5, CD6, CASP8, MMP1, CXCL8, CXCL10, CXCL11, IL20RA, and sirtuin 2 (SIRT2). In LGI1 encephalitis, no clinically useful association was found between biomarkers and clinical variables. In the NMDAR encephalitis group, SIRT2, TNF beta, and CD5 were significantly associated with ovarian teratoma. For SIRT2, this was true even for the first patients' CSF sample (SIRT2 without vs. with tumor, mean +/- SD = 2.2 +/- 0.29 vs. 2.88 +/- 0.48; p = 0.007, 95% confidence interval = -1.15 to -0.22; r statistic in point-biserial correlation (rpb) = 0.66, p = 0.011). SIRT2 was positively correlated with age (rpb = 0.39, p = 0.018) and total hospital days (r = 0.55, p = <0.001). Conclusions: SIRT2 should be investigated as a biomarker of paraneoplastic etiology in NMDAR encephalitis.
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