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Russian Journal of Child Neurology

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Vol 19, No 1 (2024)
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AUTHENTIC ARTICLES

10‑17 586
Abstract

Background. Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a severe genetic disease that usually affects boys and it is characterized by a gradual loss of muscle strength up to respiratory arrest from the childhood. Currently, there are several types of successful pathogenic therapies for the disease, but it is most effective before the age of 5 years. Thereby, the problem of verifying the diagnosis before the treatment fails to work (when treatment can still make the patient’s life easier) becomes urgent. In the Russian Federation only about 1,500 boys are diagnosed with DMD, when the calculated value is 3,500.
Aim. To identify all cases of DMD among patients in the neurological departments of hospitals in the Krasnoyarsk region by measuring the level of creatine phosphokinase.
Materials and methods. This study was estimated by neurologists in the Krasnoyarsk Interdistrict Children’s Clinical Hospital No. 1 and the Krasnoyarsk Regional Clinical Center for Maternal and Child Health. When elevated levels of creatine phosphokinase were detected in children, genetic analysis was performed to verify DMD.
Results and conclusion. Innovate experience of Krasnoyarsk region made it possible to identify all patients with DMD in the neurological departments of the Krasnoyarsk Interdistrict Children’s Clinical Hospital No. 1 and the Krasnoyarsk Regional Clinical Center for Maternal and Child Health using cheap creatine phosphokinase level analysis. The number of patients diagnosed with DMD is now ~4 cases per year. As a result, there is a correspondence between the number of real patients and the epidemiological estimate quantity for the Krasnoyarsk region.

18‑24 493
Abstract

Background. Remission in general sense means disappearance of signs and symptoms of the disease. The risk of recurrence of seizures is usually evaluated only in terms of the risk of a second unprovoked seizure after the first one or the risk of recurrence of seizures after discontinuation of therapy. There are no studies that assess the probability of achieving a second remission in patients with recurrent seizures.
Aim. To develop a tool for assessing the probability of favorable and unfavorable treatment outcomes after recurrent seizures in adult patients with different forms of epilepsy.
Materials and methods. We analyzed data from 215 patients with recurrent seizures after achieving remission, followed up for 12 or more months, and analyzed disease outcomes.
Results and conclusion. At the end of the study, repeat remission was observed in 67 patients, improvement in 48, and no effect in 100. Patients with remission and improvement were combined into a “favorable outcome” group (n = 115), while patients with no effect from therapy formed an “unfavorable outcome” group (n = 100).
Patients with an unfavorable outcome were statistically significantly more likely to have factors such as longer disease duration, coexisting serious somatic diseases, structural etiology of epilepsy, bilateral tonic-clonic seizures with focal onset, focal forms of epilepsy, daily seizures, epileptogenic changes on neuroimaging, and regional epileptiform activity on EEG (p <0.05). In turn, patients with a favorable outcome were statistically significantly more likely to have factors such as genetic etiology of epilepsy, generalized tonic-clonic seizures, absences, myoclonic seizures, generalized forms of epilepsy, no pathology on neuroimaging, diffuse epileptiform activity on electroencephalogram, and no pathology on electroencephalogram (p <0.05).
Based on the obtained data using the results of constructing contingency tables, a scale for assessing the probability of achieving repeat remission in patients with recurrent epileptic seizures was developed, consisting of 9 sections. To assess the effectiveness of the model, ROC analysis was performed, confirming statistically significant sensitivity and specificity of the obtained scale.
Further research is needed to develop more accurate predictors of epilepsy outcomes to understand the peculiarities of the disease pathogenesis.

REVIEWS AND LECTURES

25‑40 1191
Abstract

This review aims to summarize the available evidence on the efficacy and tolerability of sulthiame for different forms of epilepsy. The analysis of international publications suggests that sulthiame is considered as a first-line drug for the treatment of age-dependent epilepsy with central temporal spikes (rolandic epilepsy). Sulthiame is highly effective in children with epileptic encephalopathies manifesting with spike-and-wave activity during sleep, including Landau-Kleffner syndrome, as well as in patients with myoclonic seizures. The drug might be also effective in patients with other forms of focal epilepsy, including those resistant to therapy. The tolerability of sulthiame is higher that that of old antiepileptic drugs and even levetiracetam; thus, it is associated with a lower risk of treatment interruptions due to adverse events. Moreover, sulthiame can be used for behavioral disorders (such as hyperkinetic behavior, aggressiveness) and cognitive impairments. Sulthiame can be effective in patients with epilepsy and sleep apnea.

CLINICAL OBSERVATIONS

41‑47 628
Abstract

The article presents a clinical case of epilepsy with electrical status epilepticus during slow-wave sleep, the example of which shows the relevance of the issue of timely diagnosis and prescription of adequate anti-epileptic therapy in this syndrome. The role of regular electroencephalographic sleep monitoring in order to monitor the effectiveness of therapeutic measures is emphasized, and the main difficulties in making this diagnosis and choosing the correct anti-epileptic treatment are shown.

48‑53 514
Abstract

Progress in molecular genetics is gradually leading to a radical revision of the understanding of the nature of not only recognized genetically determined diseases, but also those whose genetic nature has only been assumed. More and more information is emerging about polygenic and/or multifactorial diseases. The authors P.L. Sokolov and N.V. Chebanenko in 2022 proposed the concept of a neurotropic genome and the classification of genes, according to their “areas of responsibility” – points of application of determinant activity. There is a growing number of scientific works on the dependence of the pathological phenotype on the nature of the mutation and its localization along the gene.
In this article, using the example of Wolf–Hirschhorn syndrome, variants of the dependence of the phenotype on the location of the genome abnormality are considered. A case of a disease from the authors’ practice, in which epilepsy and cerebral palsy predominate, is presented; the phenotype is analyzed with the nature and location of the identified genetic anomaly. The authors make assumption about the connection between the nature and location of the genome anomaly and the characteristics of the phenotype.

54‑60 675
Abstract

Wernicke encephalopathy is a neuropsychiatric syndrome characterized by three main symptoms: oculomotor disturbances, cerebellar ataxia, and psychiatric disturbances. The condition is associated with a high mortality and morbidity rate. Wernicke encephalopathy is most commonly seen in adolescent children presenting with a vitamin B1 deficiency. Thiamine deficiency may also cause polyneuritis syndrome, with or without the aforementioned symptoms. The condition is characterized by sensory-motor impairments in a symmetrical pattern, dysarthria, and paresis or even paralysis of the lower limbs. This report focuses on an adolescent case presenting acute oculomotor paresis, nystagmus, leg weakness, impaired gait, decreased deep tendon reflexes, cognitive impairment, and a history of recurrent vomiting, prolonged starvation, and eating behaviour disorders. The magnetic resonance imaging scan reveals symmetrical pathological foci of increased intensity in T2 in the periaqueductal region, at the Magendie’s central aperture. The patient displays a mixed motor-sensory polyneuropathic syndrome affecting both lower limbs, primarily of the axonopathy type, based on electroneuromyography data. Positive outcomes such as restored eyeball movement, enhanced gait, increased muscle strength in the lower legs and feet, and better management of sensory disorders have occurred due to thiamine treatment.



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ISSN 2073-8803 (Print)
ISSN 2412-9178 (Online)