1/29. The role of early left-brain injury in determining lateralization of cerebral speech functions.Preparatory to craniotomy for the relief of medically refractory focal epilepsy, the lateralization of cerebral speech functions was determined by the Wada intracarotid Amytal test in 134 patients with clinical and radiologic evidence of an early left-hemisphere lesion. Their results were compared with those for 262 patients (140 right-handed, 122 left-handed), who were tested in a similar way. One-third of the patients with early lesions were still right-handed, and 81% of these right-handers were left-hemisphere dominant for speech. In the non-right-handers, speech was represented in the left cerebral hemisphere in nearly a third of the group, in the right hemisphere in half the group, and bilaterally in the remainder. Bilateral speech representation was demonstrated in 15% of the non-right-handers without early left-brain injury and in 19% of those with evidence of such early injury, whereas it was extremely rare in the right-handed groups. In addition, nearly half the patients with bilateral speech representation exhibited a complete or partial dissociation between errors of naming and errors in the repetition of verbal sequences after Amytal injection into left or right hemispheres. This points to the possibility of a functionally asymmetric participation of the two hemispheres in the language processes of some normal left-handers. The results of the Amytal speech tests in this series of patients point to locus of lesion as one of the critical determinants in the lateralization of cerebral speech processes after early left-brain injury. It is argued that in such cases the continuing dominance of the left hemisphere for speech in largely contingent upon the integrity of the frontal and parietal speech zones.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = injury (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/29. phenytoin induced rhinophyma treated by excision and full thickness skin grafting.A 49-year-old man suffering from post-traumatic epilepsy presented with a severe rhinophyma probably induced by phenytoin. Initial surgical shaving was soon followed by recurrence, formation of intraepidermal cysts and persistent infection. Ultimate treatment by full thickness excision and a full thickness skin graft resulted in a pleasing cosmetic result. Radical excision of the affected skin followed by full thickness skin graft nasal reconstruction should be considered for cases of recurrent severe rhinophyma with inclusion cysts to eradicate chronic infection and improve cosmesis.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 53.107961812501keywords = post-traumatic (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/29. Concussive convulsions: emergency department assessment and management of a frequently misunderstood entity.Immediate concussive convulsions are an unusual but dramatic sequela to head injuries. Previously believed to be an epileptic phenomenon, they are now thought to be a brief traumatic functional decerebration that results from loss of cortical inhibition. With concussive convulsions generally occurring within seconds of head impact and lasting up to several minutes, patients are initially in a tonic phase, followed by a clonic convulsion. A postictal phase is generally brief if it occurs at all with these episodes. patients with isolated concussive convulsions have no evidence of structural brain injury as assessed with neuroimaging studies or physical examination. Neuropsychological testing often demonstrates transient cortical dysfunction consistent with the concussive episode. The long-term outcome for patients with isolated concussive convulsion is universally good, with no long-term neurologic sequelae and no increased incidence of early or late posttraumatic epilepsy. Emergency department management should focus on evaluation of the associated concussive injury. The concussive convulsion requires no specific therapy, and antiepileptic medication is not indicated.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.28571428571429keywords = injury (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/29. Post-traumatic acute rise of ICP related to subclinical epileptic seizures.The authors report a case of post-traumatic intracranial hypertension with ICP paroxysmal rise related to subclinical epileptic seizures. The interest of detecting such a phenomenon is emphasized from a practical therapeutic point of view.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 53.107961812501keywords = post-traumatic (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/29. Symptomatic epilepsy with facial myoclonus triggered by language.We report on a patient with a left frontal lesion who, many years after an injury, developed non-fluent aphasia and facial myoclonic jerks triggered by speaking and listening to spoken language. At age 57, the patient first noted that he would begin to stutter when delivering lectures at conferences. The stuttering would worsen if he continued talking. The video-polygraphic EEG recording shows brief paroxysms of spikes and polyspikes, followed by a slow wave, more evident in the left fronto-temporal region. The myoclonic jerks originating from the submental area correlate with EEG abnormalities. Clinically, these jerks determined a form of stuttering. The triggering factors were reading, speaking and listening to spoken language. This case had several characteristic features: facial myoclonus was the only seizure type experienced by the patient; the seizures and language impairment had a very late onset--about 50 years after the traumatic event that produced a dramatic lesion in the left fronto-polar region. (Published with videosequences.)- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.14285714285714keywords = injury (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/29. Macrodosage of phenytoin.Large doses (up to 1200 mg) of phenytoin were required to achieve therapeutic plasma concentrations and to control post-traumatic seizures in a 62-year-old woman. The elimination half-life of phenytoin was calculated to be 3.5 hours. Frequent monitoring of the plasma concentration was essential to optimize the therapeutic control and to avoid systemic toxicity.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 53.107961812501keywords = post-traumatic (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/29. Indriven sphenoid wing as a cause of post-traumatic epilepsy.Post-traumatic epilepsy is more frequent after severe head injuries, however the severity of the trauma is not always correlated with the injured brain tissue. We report a patient whose seizures developed 4 years after a face trauma. Upward displacement of the sphenoid wing caused a contusion at the orbital surface of the frontal lobe. Computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and electroencephalographic findings are presented. The patient responded well to commonly used antiepileptic drugs.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 212.43184725keywords = post-traumatic (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/29. Surgical treatment of late-onset post-traumatic partial seizures in a child.INTRODUCTION: Although post-traumatic epilepsy accounts for a small number of epileptic patients, it should not be underestimated since it primarily affects children and young adults and can result in psychosocial disability and death. CASE REPORT: We present the case of a 14-year-old girl referred to us because of refractory partial seizures. The patient had experienced a head trauma at the age of 6 months requiring surgical treatment due to a large right fronto-temporo-parietal extradural hematoma. She was discharged on phenytoin prophylactically. At the age of 4 she had her first partial seizure, characterized by left arm and leg tonic-clonic movements. Her physical examination revealed a subtle left brachiocrural hemiparesis and developmental delay. Several antiepileptic drugs were tried and seizure control was not achieved. They were occurring 8-10 times per day. The proposed surgical treatment was based on the consistent seizure semiology and on the affected area as identified by MRI and visible macroscopically to the neurosurgeon. At 9 years follow-up the patient is seizure free. Her motor skills are adequate for living a normal life. CONCLUSION: We emphasize that selected patients may benefit from surgical treatment when epilepsy results from a trauma.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 265.53980906251keywords = post-traumatic (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/29. Effectiveness of cerebral hemispherotomy for improving behavioral disorders associated with intractable post-traumatic seizures.A 25-year-old man presented with intractable post-traumatic seizures after suffering cerebral contusion in a traffic accident at age 5 years. Cerebral hemispherotomy was performed to transect the neuronal fibers to interrupt connections between seizure foci in wide areas of the brain, and to minimize the resected brain parenchyma. His seizures resolved and behavioral disorders improved, which had been impaired since age 8 years. Increased glucose metabolism in the normal frontal lobe detected by interictal fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography was correlated with the improvements in behavioral disorders. These findings suggest that the effects of seizures may be reversible in brain areas connected with, but remote from, the epileptogenic cortex.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 265.53980906251keywords = post-traumatic (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/29. spinal cord seizures: a possible cause of isolated myoclonic activity in traumatic spinal cord injury: case report.spinal cord seizures are infrequently reported. They have been associated with intravenous dye placement, transverse myelitis and multiple sclerosis, but never with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI). We report the case of a 48-year-old SCI male with complete C6 quadriplegia, and apparent spinal cord seizures. These seizures were characterised by myoclonus simplex activity involving the upper extremities only. The lower extremities were spared. The patient was conscious throughout the myoclonic activity and an electroencephalogram of the brain obtained during an event revealed no cortical epiliptiform activity. The seizures lasted approximately 30 seconds to a few minutes, and an acute increase in blood pressure and a decrease in pulse generally occurred 30 to 60 seconds prior to the event. Previously reported spinal cord seizures in multiple sclerosis were frequently treated with carbamazepine. In this case successful treatment was with diazepam. spinal cord seizures may present in those with traumatic SCI. benzodiazepines may be useful in the treatment of spinal cord seizures.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.71428571428571keywords = injury (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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