Autoimmune and inflammatory epilepsies
Summary The role of immunity and inflammation in epilepsy have long been suggested by the anticonvulsant activity of steroids in some infancy and childhood epilepsies. The role of fever and infection in exacerbating seizures due to possible proinflammatory molecules, the increased frequency of seizu...
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Published in | Epilepsia (Copenhagen) Vol. 53; no. s4; pp. 58 - 62 |
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Main Author | |
Format | Journal Article Conference Proceeding |
Language | English |
Published |
Oxford, UK
Blackwell Publishing Ltd
01.09.2012
Wiley-Blackwell Wiley Subscription Services, Inc |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Summary
The role of immunity and inflammation in epilepsy have long been suggested by the anticonvulsant activity of steroids in some infancy and childhood epilepsies. The role of fever and infection in exacerbating seizures due to possible proinflammatory molecules, the increased frequency of seizures in systemic autoimmune diseases like systemic lupus erythematous, and, recently, the detection of autoantibodies in some unexplained epilepsies reinforced the causal place of immunity and inflammation in epilepsies with unknown etiology. In this article, we summarize epilepsies where clinical and biologic data strongly support the pathogenic role of autoantibodies (e.g., limbic encephalitides, N‐methyl‐d‐aspartate [NMDA] encephalitis) and epilepsies where immune‐mediated inflammation occurs, but the full pathogenic cascade is either not clear (e.g., Rasmussen’s encephalitis) or only strongly hypothesized (idiopathic hemiconvulsion–hemiplegia syndrome [IHHS] and fever‐induced refractory epilepsy in school‐aged children [FIRES]). We emphasize the electroclinical features that would help to diagnose these conditions, allowing early immunomodulating therapy. Finally, we raise some questions that remain unclear regarding diagnosis, mechanisms, and future therapies. |
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Bibliography: | ark:/67375/WNG-LJG2F525-T ArticleID:EPI3614 istex:0BF05461F4B868E847030FB38ECF7D7EC01E52CA ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-3 content type line 23 ObjectType-Review-1 |
ISSN: | 0013-9580 1528-1167 |
DOI: | 10.1111/j.1528-1167.2012.03614.x |