• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.50 no.7
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• pp.672-677
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• 2007

Purpose : To assess the prevalence and characteristics of headache comorbidity with epilepsy in children and adolescents in a specialty epilepsy clinic. Methods : Two hundred twenty nine consecutive patients attending the Chosun University Hospital Pediatric Epilepsy Clinic (mean age $10.0{\pm}4.1\;years$, range 4-17, M:F ratio 1.1:1.0) were interviewed with a standardized headache questionnaire. Headache was classified according to the International Classification of Headache Disorders, 2nd Edition and epilepsy was classified according to the International League Against Epilepsy. Disability was assessed using pediatric migraine disability assessment (PedMIDAS). Results : Of the 229 epilepsy patients, 86 (37.6%) had co-morbid headache. Of the headache patients, 64 (74.4%) had migraine (65.6%- migraine without aura, 20.3% - migraine with aura, 14.1% - probable migraine). The mean headache frequency was $7.2{\pm}8.4$ per month, mean duration was $2.2{\pm}4.0$ hours, mean severity was $5.2{\pm}2.2$ out of 10, and mean PedMIDAS score was $13.0{\pm}35.4$. The proportion of females was not higher in epilepsy with headache patients (48.8%) compared to epilepsy patients alone (48.0%). In the patients with migraine, 48.4% had complex partial seizures, 17.2% had simple partial seizures, and 34.4% had generalized seizures (P=0.368). A postictal association of migraine was reported in 18.8% with 17.2% reporting a preictal headache, and 7.8% reporting an ictal headache. Conclusion : The prevalence of headache in pediatric epilepsy is higher than that in general pediatric population, suggesting a co-morbidity of headache in epilepsy patients with migraine being the most frequent headache disorder. Altered cerebral excitability resulting in an increased occurrence of spreading depression may explain the headache comorbidity with epilepsy. Further studies are needed to assess the etiology of this co-morbidity as well as assess the frequency, duration, severity and disability response to antiepileptic drugs.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.9-14
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• 1995

뇌졸증환자의 뇌 SPECT 소견상 나타나는 소뇌교차해리현상(crossed cerebellar diaschisis)은 잘 알려진 현상이다. 한편 간질 환자의 발작시 뇌 SPECT에서 반대편 소뇌에 혈류증가를 보이는 역교차해리현상(reverse type of crossed cerebellar diashisis)은 드물게 보고되었었다. 따라서 본 저자들은 발작시 뇌 SPECT에서 역교차해리현상의 빈도 및 간질병소를 찾는데 있어서의 유용성에 대해 알아보고자 하였다. 복합부분발작환자 중 임상적, 뇌파검사상 및 SPECT 소견등에서 간질병소가 일치하는 12명의 환자를 대상으로 하였다. 환자 모두에서 시행한 발작시 스캔은 발작중 혹은 환자가 aura를 호소할때 $^{99m}Tc$-HMPAO 15-20mCi를 정맥주입 후 시행하였으며 발작간 스캔은 11명의 환자에서 발작시 스캔 후 적어도 3일 간격을 두고 시행하였다. 간질병소는 우측측두엽이 6예, 좌측측두엽이 4예, 우측후두엽이 1예, 좌측전두엽이 1예 등이었다. 발작시 스캔상 간질병소 및 반대편 소뇌에 혈류가 증가하는 역해리현상은 모두 8명(75%)의 환자에서 나타났으며 특히 2명의 환자에서는 간질병소보다 반대편 소뇌의 동위원소 섭취가 더욱 뚜렸했다. 역해리현상을 보였던 환자의 발작간 스캔소견에서는 발작시 증가되었었던 소뇌의 동위원소 섭취가 7예에서 정상화되었고 나머지 1예에서는 감소되었다. 따라서 소뇌의 역교차해리현상은 발작시 뇌 SPECT의 자주 볼 수 있는 현상으로 간질병소의 편측화에 도움을 줄 수 있을 것으로 생각된다.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.306-318
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• 1995

To evaluate the intractability of partial epileptic patients by variables, the author studied 113 patients (uncontrolled: 45, controlled: 68) who were admitted to the Department of Neurology, College of Medicine, Yeungnam University from January, 1991 to August, 1993. The results were as follows. The items related to complex partial seizures, multiple seizure types and a histories of status epilepticus or clusters of seizures were significantly associated with drug-refractoriness (p<0.01). A high frequency of seizures before evaluation was associated with a poor outcome(p<0.01). The presences of known etiology of seizures, neurologic abnormalities and psychiatric disturbance were associated with limited treatment responses(p<0.01, p<0.05, p<0.01). An abnormal EEG findings such as background slowing, focal slowing, epileptiform discharges or secondarily bilateral synchrony were statistically significant (p<0.01). Age at onset, sex, distribution of epileptic foci, duration of seizure before evaluation, family history and abnormal neuroradiologic findings were not statistically significant. By these results, it was suggested that having at least four factors of the above variables were associated with limited treatment response.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.50 no.8
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• pp.757-760
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• 2007

Purpose : Febrile convulsions (FC) were considered to be a benign seizure syndrome that is distinct from epilepsy. But it is thought that children with complex features i.e., partial or prolonged seizures or multiple episodes of FC would bear a higher risk of developing unprovoked seizures. The aim of this study is to look into the relative significance of each criteria that define complex febrile convulsions (CFC) as a predictor of subsequent epilepsy. Methods : All children were retrospectively identified for a febrile seizure through pediatric departments of the Konyang University Hospital. Information was collected from medical records and interviews with parents. Patients with abnormal neurological examinations at presentation were excluded. Results : This study was performed from March 2000 to December 2003. Sixty-three out of 314 children (20.0%) with febrile convulsion fulfilled the criteria for CFC and forty-four children of them have been followed for 12 months or more. Ten of these (23.2%) had unprovoked seizures for 14-62 months (median $34.2{\pm}11.6$ months). The patients with partial FC showed a trend toward a higher risk (57.1%) of developing epilepsy than the patients with multiple or prolonged febrile convulsions (26.7%, 24.1% respectively). Conclusion : We found that the partial feature of febrile convulsion is associated with subsequent epilepsy.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.169-182
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• 2000

Purpose: To investigate the various ictal perfusion patterns and find the relationships between clinical factors and different perfusion patterns. Materials and Methods: Interictal and ictal SPECT and SPECT subtraction were performed in 61 patients with partial epilepsy. Both positive images showing ictal hyperperfusion and negative images revealing ictal hypoperfusion were obtained by SPECT subtraction The ictal perfusion patterns of subtracted SPECT were classified into focal hyperperfusion, hyperperfusion-plus, combined hyperperfusion-hypoperfusion, and focal hypoperfusion only. Results: The concordance rates with epileptic focus were 91.8% in combined analysis of ictal hyperperfusion and hypoperfusion images of subtracted SPECT, 85.2% in hyperperfusion images only of subtracted SPECT, and 68.9% in conventional ictal SPECT analysis. Ictal hypoperfusion occurred less frequently in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) than extratemporal lobe epilepsy. Mesial temporal hyperperfusion alone was seen only in mesial TLE while lateral temporal hyperperfusion alone was observed only in neocortical TLE. Hippocampal sclerosis had much lower incidence of ictal hypoperfusion than any other pathology. Some patients showed ictal hypoperfusion at epileptic focus with ictal hyperperfusion in the neighboring brain regions where ictal discharges propagated. Conclusion: Hypoperfusion as well as hyperperfusion in ictal SPECT should be considered for localizing epileptic focus. Although the mechanism of ictal hypoperfusion could be an intra-ictal early exhaustion of seizure focus or a steal phenomenon by the propagation of ictal discharges to adjacent brain areas, further study is needed to elucidate it.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.107-114
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• 1995

This study was to investigate the anatomical evidence of anxiety. MRI was used to study 11 patients with panic disorder and 15 patients with complex partial seizure, and 21 controls. The regions of interest in the MRI were measured with computer-assisted planimetry using the AutoCad and digitizer. The following results were obtained ; 1) The mean age was 49.7(12.4) years in patients with panic disorder and 30.1(7.5) years in patients with complex partial seizure. 2) There were na signi ficant differences between 3 groups in the values of cerebral area, temporal lobe, caudate nucleus, hippocampus, parahippocampus, amygdala, third ventricle and VBR. The right parahippocampal region which attracted most attention in neurobiological studies regarding anxiety, tended to be larger in both study groups compared to the control group, but with no statistical significance. 3) There was lett-right reversal of temporal lobes in both study groups. And these are mainly due to asymmetrical increase in area of the temporal lobe on right side. These results suggest that temporal lobe, especially right temporal, is the anatomical correspondence of anxiety and functional activation of temporo-limbic system may be accompanied by the structural change of temporal lobe.