Neurology
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Phenomenology of prolonged febrile seizures: results of the FEBSTAT study.
Febrile status epilepticus (FSE) has been associated with hippocampal injury and subsequent mesial temporal sclerosis and temporal lobe epilepsy. However, little is known about the semiology of FSE. ⋯ Febrile status epilepticus is usually focal and often not well recognized. It occurs in very young children and is usually the first febrile seizure. Seizures are typically very prolonged and the distribution of seizure durations suggests that the longer a seizure continues, the less likely it is to spontaneously stop.
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Severe gait disturbances and freezing episodes (frequently resistant to optimal dopaminergic treatment) often appear in advanced Parkinson disease (PD). Even several years after initiation, high-frequency subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (STN-DBS) is still very effective for controlling segmental symptoms. However, there are no long-term data on the management of gait disorders and freezing in STN-DBS. ⋯ Our results prompt consideration of a new strategy for two-stage subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (STN-DBS) frequency optimization, with stimulation at 130 Hz and the usual voltage during the initial years of STN-DBS and then at 60 Hz at a high voltage in Parkinson disease patients who develop severe gait disorders.
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This study estimated the annual economic cost of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) in the United States in 2004, including the direct costs of medical care and the indirect costs due to lost productivity and premature death. ⋯ The economic cost of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) was substantial, and largely due to disability and death. The cost estimate summarizes the lifetime health burden due to GBS in monetary terms, and provides some of the information needed to assess the cost-effectiveness of health measures that affect GBS.