Women with epilepsy are at particular risk of developing side effects due to antiepileptic drugs (AED). Neuroendocrine disorders in women can be caused by both epilepsy itself and the therapy. This literature review aims to evaluate safety and tolerability of different AED in girls and women of reproductive age, incidence of neuroendocrine disorders associated with AED, and pregnancy outcomes in women with epi­lepsy. We also provide some own research results. We conducted a retrospective analysis of data for 345female patients aged between 15 and 40 years that were followed up at the Svt. Luka’s Institute of Child Neurology and Epilepsy between 2000 and 2018. We also performed a separate analysis of neuroendocrine disorders and pregnancy outcomes in these women. We found that 65 patients (18.8 %) developed pronounced neuroendocrine reproductive and cosmetic disorders (menstrual disorders, including dysmenorrhea, opsomenorrhea, amenorrhea, anovulatory cycles, and infertility; cosmetic neuroendocrine disorders, including obesity, hirsutism, and hair loss; adverse pregnancy outcomes), which significantly reduced the quality of life. Neuroendocrine disorders were observed in 55patients, whereas adverse pregnancy outcomes were registered in 10 (14.2 %) out of 70pregnancies.

Our findings suggest that the majority of women with epilepsy successfully gave birth to healthy children. The outcome of pregnancy depends on many factors, including the use of different AED. Valproic acid has the highest teratogenic potential. In our study, neuroendocrine repro­ductive disorders were primarily reported by women receiving valproic acid. Carbamazepines were the second most common AED associated with teratogenic effects and reproductive disorders. The most favorable results were observed in women receiving new AED, including oxcar- bazepine, topiramate, and levetiracetam.

Background. It has been suggested that the part of the cryptogenic epilepsies is a consequence of minor-foci disorders of cortical architectonics, the diagnosis of which is not always possible due to the unavailability of MR-scanners with high magnetic induction.

Objective: determination of the best options of the low-field MRI-device for visualization of epileptogenic brain malformations in children with symptomatic focal forms of epilepsy.

Materials and methods. Were analyzed MRI data of 24 children undergoing investigations regarding for difficult-to-treat or pharmacoresistant forms of focal epilepsy in the Department of Magnetic-Resonance Tomography, Central Children Clinical Hospital of FMB Agency  of Russia at 2015–2017. All the patients underwent brain MRI according to standard routine protocol. Simultaneously we review conclusions of epileptologist and the preliminary video-electroencefalographic monitoring data for determination of the optimal imaging protocol for every specific form of epilepsy. For imaging of the epileptogenic brain lesion the MRI study was conducted on open-ended device “Aperto” (Hitachi Ltd., Japan) of static magnetic field with the tension characteristics of 0.4 T. The thickness of the slices and the scan step was performed  at 3.0 and 3.5 mm (the maximum value of slice thickness and step due to the technical conditions of the used scanner without losing in signalto-noise ratio) with the use of special positioning of slices in the coronal and axial projections, T2, T1, STIR, FLAIR weighted images perpendicular and parallel to the long axis of the hippocampus.

Results and conclusion. In 24 patients were revealed structural brain changes that have neuroradiological signs of brain malformations. In all the patients this changes were associated with difficult to treat and drug-resistant forms of focal epilepsy. The newly identified malformations were observed in 10 patients, and in 3 cases the changes detected after previous MRI (including high-field MRI-devices) whose results were false-negative. In 11 patients diffuse brain abnormalities had been revealed, including the combinations of several hypogenesis and dysplastic pathologies. In 13 patients were marked different types of hemispheric and regional disorders of cortical development including focal cortical dysplasia. Extensive unilateral and bilateral changes were clearly distinguishable on the routine MRI. The low-tension technique approximated to the epileptic scanning protocol in some cases allowed to assess the affected area and revealed the combination of different variants of pathological cortical organization. In 7 cases the preliminary diagnosis based on the results of previous MRI studies including high-field MRI-devices. In 2 of these patients this changes were minor-focal, not visualized according to the routine MRI protocol, and had the differentiation characteristics between focal cortical dysplasia IIb/dysembryoplastic neuroepithelial tumor/ganglioglioma types. Disappointing results of visualization of mesial-basal temporal lobe regions aimed to detect small-caliber intracortical formations were observed. These patients contained a separate group of 12 children for whom extensive investigation which includes high-field MRI scan protocol on epileptic program was recommended.

Early childhood autism, or autism spectrum disorders, is an extremely heterogeneous group of conditions that share similar symptoms  of dysontogenesis. Epilepsy is the most significant comorbidity in autism. The present article covers various aspects of comorbidity between epilepsy and autism, described in the literature over the last 50 years. This review aims to analyze the development of epilepsy and autism during ontogenesis and to identify causal relationships between these diseases, considering the information on the two age peaks for epilepsy onset in patients with autism.

West syndrome is a severe form of childhood epilepsy associated with drug-resistant seizures and intellectual disability. The disease  is characterized by specific seizures called infantile spasms, hypsarrhythmia on the electroencephalogram, and delayed psychomotor development. The identification of the disease etiology may affect the prognosis and the choice of therapy. The following prognostic factors have been described so far: etiology, abnormal neurological signs, presence of other epileptic seizures before and after epileptic spasms, response to therapy regardless of the drug type. Difficulties associated with the diagnosis of West syndrome and long-term examination in outpatient settings lead to persistence of hypsarrhythmia and worsen the prognosis. Lack of universal standards for IS therapy results in significant diffe rences in treatment outcomes observed in different regions. Despite significant efforts made towards studying West syndrome, many aspects are still poorly understood. Further studies are needed to help physicians in choosing an optimal treatment strategy and appropriate duration  of follow-up as well as to improve the disease prognosis.

This article provides a detailed description of clinical and electroanatomical characteristics of epilepsy in patients suffering from epileptic trances – a rare type of focal motor seizures with ambulatory automatism manifesting as an unplanned travel. We reviewed the currently available data on the nature of psychical seizures in patients with epilepsy and the role of social and legal expertise for this disease. We developed the criteria for differential diagnosis between epileptic trances and other conditions with similar manifestations (for example, epileptic fugues) and identified a diagnostic minimum. We also proposed a hypothesis of ictal spatial migration. We emphasized the efficiency of surgical treatment in the case of compliance with a proper diagnostic algorithm.

The forced normalization of the electroencephalogram (Landolt syndrome) is a rapid normalization of the electroencephalogram (decrease in or disappearance of paroxysmal activity) under the influence of anticonvulsant treatment of epilepsy patients, corresponding to a decrease in frequency or complete disappearance of seizures with the appearance of neuropsychiatric disorders (dysphorias, the syndrome of hyperactivity and attention deficit, mysophobia etc). The authors present a review of the literature on the Landolt syndrome, and own data.