Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Emerging Immunopharmacological Targets In Multiple Sclerosis., Mojtaba Farjam, Guang-Xian Zhang, Bogoljub Ciric, Abdolmohamad Rostami

Department of Neurology Faculty Papers

Inflammatory demyelination of the central nervous system (CNS) is the hallmark of multiple sclerosis (MS), a chronic debilitating disease that affects more than 2.5 million individuals worldwide. It has been widely accepted, although not proven, that the major pathogenic mechanism of MS involves myelin-reactive T cell activation in the periphery and migration into the CNS, which subsequently triggers an inflammatory cascade that leads to demyelination and axonal damage. Virtually all MS medications now in use target the immune system and prevent tissue damage by modulating neuroinflammatory processes. Although current therapies such as commonly prescribed disease-modifying medications decrease the relapse rate …

The Evolution Of Epilepsy Surgery Between 1991 And 2011 In Nine Major Epilepsy Centers Across The United States, Germany, And Australia., Lara Jehi, Daniel Friedman, Chad Carlson, Gregory Cascino, Sandra Dewar, Christian Elger, Jerome Engel, Robert Knowlton, Ruben Kuzniecky, Anne Mcintosh, Terence J O'Brien, Dennis Spencer, Michael R. Sperling, Gregory Worrell, Bill Bingaman, Jorge Gonzalez-Martinez, Werner Doyle, Jacqueline French

Department of Neurology Faculty Papers

OBJECTIVE: Epilepsy surgery is the most effective treatment for select patients with drug-resistant epilepsy. In this article, we aim to provide an accurate understanding of the current epidemiologic characteristics of this intervention, as this knowledge is critical for guiding educational, academic, and resource priorities.

METHODS: We profile the practice of epilepsy surgery between 1991 and 2011 in nine major epilepsy surgery centers in the United States, Germany, and Australia. Clinical, imaging, surgical, and histopathologic data were derived from the surgical databases at various centers.

RESULTS: Although five of the centers performed their highest number of surgeries for mesial temporal sclerosis …

Type Of Preoperative Aura May Predict Postsurgical Outcome In Patients With Temporal Lobe Epilepsy And Mesial Temporal Sclerosis., Ali Akbar Asadi-Pooya, Maromi Nei, Ashwini Sharan, Michael R. Sperling

Department of Neurology Faculty Papers

PURPOSE: As the initial symptoms of epileptic seizures, many types of auras have significant localizing or lateralizing value. In this study, we hypothesized that the type of aura may predict postsurgical outcome in patients with medically refractory temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) and mesial temporal sclerosis (MTS).

METHODS: In this retrospective study, all patients with a clinical diagnosis of medically refractory TLE due to unilateral mesial temporal sclerosis who underwent epilepsy surgery at the Jefferson Comprehensive Epilepsy Center were recruited. Patients were prospectively registered in a database from 1986 through 2014. Postsurgical outcome was classified into two groups: seizure freedom or …

Age At Onset In Patients With Medically Refractory Temporal Lobe Epilepsy And Mesial Temporal Sclerosis: Impact On Clinical Manifestations And Postsurgical Outcome., Ali Akbar Asadi-Pooya, Michael R. Sperling

Department of Neurology Faculty Papers

PURPOSE: To evaluate the demographic and clinical manifestations and postsurgical outcome of childhood-onset mesial temporal sclerosis and temporal lobe epilepsy (MTS-TLE) and establishing the potential differences as compared to the patients with adult-onset MTS-TLE.

METHOD: In this retrospective study all patients with a clinical diagnosis of medically refractory TLE due to mesial temporal sclerosis, who underwent epilepsy surgery at Jefferson comprehensive epilepsy center, were recruited. Patients were prospectively registered in a database from 1986 through 2014. Postsurgical outcome was classified into two groups; seizure-free or relapsed. Clinical manifestations and outcome were compared between patients with childhood-onset MTS-TLE (i.e., age at …

Inflammatory Muscle Diseases., Marinos C Dalakas

Department of Neurology Faculty Papers

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Test-Enhanced Learning On Long-Term Retention In Aan Annual Meeting Courses., Douglas P Larsen, Andrew C Butler, Wint Y Aung, John R Corboy, Deborah I Friedman, Michael R Sperling

Department of Neurology Faculty Papers

OBJECTIVE: We measured the long-term retention of knowledge gained through selected American Academy of Neurology annual meeting courses and compared the effects of repeated quizzing (known as test-enhanced learning) and repeated studying on that retention.

METHODS: Participants were recruited from 4 annual meeting courses. All participants took a pretest. This randomized, controlled trial utilized a within-subjects design in which each participant experienced 3 different postcourse activities with each activity performed on different material. Each key information point from the course was randomized in a counterbalanced fashion among participants to one of the 3 activities: repeated short-answer quizzing, repeated studying, and …