Journal Watch

Results of an observational cohort study examining malformation rates in 1461 pregnancies exposed to AED monotherapy and 484 pregnancies exposed to AED polytherapy over a 15-year period (1999-2014) based on the data for the outcomes of completed pregnancies recorded in the Australian Pregnancy Register from 1999 to the end of 2014 suggests fetal malformation rates have increased in polytherapy pregnancies over time, while rates had fallen in monotherapy pregnancies. Interestingly the increase in fetal malformation rates in polytherapy pregnancies seemed to have started to rise around 2005. This is around the time when the use of levetiracetam and topiramate...

A retrospective observation study of 15 patients ( median age 21yrs) with Anti-N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis suggests that while the diffuse cerebral atrophy can be reversible the cerebellar atrophy is irreversible and associated with a poor clinical outcome. In an accompanying editorial Dr Maarten J. Titulaer writes that progressive cerebellar atrophy is a potential biomarker for less favorable response in patients with anti-NMDAR encephalitis, especially in those admitted to the ICU. In addition, the development of diffuse cerebral atrophy should not be a reason to withhold treatment in patients with anti-NMDAR encephalitis. Overall, the outcome is...

Researchers have developed a quick and simple method for measuring bile acids in biological fluids that can be used to rapidly diagnosis of Niemann-Pick disease type C a severe fat storage disorder that can lead to liver disease in infancy and neurological dysfunction starting in childhood or early adult life.

The Cochrane Infectious Diseases Group (CIDG) have published an updated review to evaluate the effects of corticosteroids being used alongside anti-tuberculosis medication to treat people suffering from tuberculous meningitis.

Zika virus, a mosquito-borne flavivirus that causes febrile illness associated with rash, has been rapidly emerging in the Western Hemisphere over the past few months. The virus was rarely identified until outbreaks occurred on Yap Island in the Federated States of Micronesia in 2007, French Polynesia in 2013, and Easter Island in 2014. It was initially detected in Brazil in 2015, in the northeast, and was subsequently identified in other states and several South American countries, including Colombia, Ecuador, Suriname, Venezuela, French Guyana, and Paraguay (1). Local transmission has been documented in Central America (Panama, El Salvador, Honduras, and...

Epidiolex® (cannabidiol or CBD) data from the physician-led expanded access program in treatment-resistant epilepsy were published in The Lancet Neurology.

BACKGROUND Cerebral palsy is a disorder of movement and posture arising from a non-progressive lesion in the developing brain. Spasticity, a disorder of increased muscle tone, is the most common motor difficulty and is associated with activity limitation to varying degrees in mobility and self care.Oral baclofen, a gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) agonist, has been used in oral form to treat spasticity for some time, but it has a variable effect on spasticity and the dose is limited by the unwanted effect of excessive sedation. Intrathecal baclofen produces higher local concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid at a fraction of the equivalent...

The trajectory of cortical gray matter development in childhood is characterized by increase in volume resulting from early neurogenesis, peaking at puberty and subsequently losing volume and thinning by selective elimination and myelination. Although this inverted U-shaped trajectory, as well as cortical thickness has been associated with cognitive and emotional function there is no current data to relate this to childhood depression unlike in adult patients where decreased cortical gray matter has been shown to be associated with depression.