Levetiracetam efficacy in patients with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. Presentation of a case

Introduction: The Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS) is one of the most severe epileptic encephalopathies of childhood, characterized by electro-clinical triad of generalized peak-slow wave activity (PSW) in the electroencephalogram (EEG), multiple types of seizures and development delay. This paper intends to describe the syndrome in a patient with a history of hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, and a good response to treatment with levetiracetam (LEV). Method: Descriptive study on the development of a 3 year old child with intrauterine asphyxia, multi-organ failure, metabolic acidosis, hypovolaemic shock, and seizures with cerebral oedema, who developed a West syndrome, resistant to drug treatment. The semiology of seizures progressively changed to generalized episodes of hypertonia and myoclonus, with slow spike-wave electroencephalographic activity. Results: With the diagnosis of Lennox-Gastaut syndrome the patient was treated with levetiracetam, showing a substantial improvement in the cognitive sphere, in the control of seizures, and electroencephalographic findings. Conclusions: Lennox-Gastaut syndrome is one of the most severe epileptic syndromes in paediatric patients. Levetiracetam can help cognitive improvement, and contribute to seizure control in these patients. Resumen: Introducción: El síndrome de Lennox-Gastaut (SLG) es una de las encefalopatías epilépticas más severas de la infancia, caracterizada por la tríada electroclínica de actividad generalizada de punta onda lenta (POL) en el electroencefalograma (EEG), múltiples tipos de crisis epilépticas y retraso mental. Con este trabajo pretendemos describir el cuadro sindrómico en un paciente con antecedente de encefalopatía hipóxico-isquémica y SLG, y su respuesta al tratamiento con levetiracetam (LEV). Método: Estudio descriptivo evolutivo de un niño de 3 años con antecedentes obstétricos de asfixia intrauterina y repercusión multiorgánica, acidosis metabólica, shock hipovolémico y crisis convulsivas con edema cerebral que a los pocos meses de edad desarrolla un síndrome de West, resistente al tratamiento farmacológico. Progresivamente, la semiología de las crisis cambia a episodios de hipertonía generalizada y mioclonías, con actividad electroencefalográfica de punta-onda lenta. Resultados: Con el diagnóstico de SLG se inicia tratamiento con LEV, observándose una mejoría sustancial en la esfera cognitiva, en el control de las crisis, y en los hallazgos electroencefalográficos. Conclusiones: El SLG es uno de los síndromes epilépticos más graves en los pacientes pediátricos, tanto por su semiología como por su farmacorresistencia. El levetiracetam puede producir una mejoría cognitiva, además de contribuir al control de las crisis en estos pacientes. Keywords: Childhood, Epilepsy, Electroencephalogram, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, Levetiracetam, Palabras clave: Infancia, Epilepsia, Electroencefalograma, Síndrome de Lennox-Gastaut, Levetiraceta

Eficacia del levetiracetam en pacientes con síndrome de Lennox-Gastaut. Presentación de un caso

Resumen: Introducción: El síndrome de Lennox-Gastaut (SLG) es una de las encefalopatías epilépticas más severas de la infancia, caracterizada por la tríada electroclínica de actividad generalizada de punta onda lenta (POL) en el electroencefalograma (EEG), múltiples tipos de crisis epilépticas y retraso mental. Con este trabajo pretendemos describir el cuadro sindrómico en un paciente con antecedente de encefalopatía hipóxico-isquémica y SLG, y su respuesta al tratamiento con levetiracetam (LEV). Método: Estudio descriptivo evolutivo de un niño de 3 años con antecedentes obstétricos de asfixia intrauterina y repercusión multiorgánica, acidosis metabólica, shock hipovolémico y crisis convulsivas con edema cerebral que a los pocos meses de edad desarrolla un síndrome de West, resistente al tratamiento farmacológico. Progresivamente, la semiología de las crisis cambia a episodios de hipertonía generalizada y mioclonías, con actividad electroencefalográfica de punta-onda lenta. Resultados: Con el diagnóstico de SLG se inicia tratamiento con LEV, observándose una mejoría sustancial en la esfera cognitiva, en el control de las crisis, y en los hallazgos electroencefalográficos. Conclusiones: El SLG es uno de los síndromes epilépticos más graves en los pacientes pediátricos, tanto por su semiología como por su farmacorresistencia. El levetiracetam puede producir una mejoría cognitiva, además de contribuir al control de las crisis en estos pacientes. Abstract: Introduction: The Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS) is one of the most severe epileptic encephalopathies of childhood, characterized by electro-clinical triad of generalized spike-wave activity, slow (POL) in the electroencephalogram (EEG), multiple types of seizures and development delay. This paper intends to describe the syndrome in a patient with a history of hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, and a good response to treatment with levetiracetam (LEV). Method: Descriptive study on the development of a 3 year old child with intrauterine asphyxia, multiorgan failure, metabolic acidosis, hypovolemic shock, and seizures with cerebral oedema, who developed a West syndrome, resistant to drug treatment. The semiology of seizures progressively changed to generalized episodes of hypertonia and myoclonus, with slow spike-wave electroencephalographic activity. Results: With the diagnosis of Lennox-Gastaut syndrome the patient was treated with levetiracetam, showing a substantial improvement in the cognitive sphere, in the control of seizures, and electroencephalographic findings. Conclusions: Lennox-Gastaut syndrome is one of the most severe epileptic syndromes in paediatric patients. Levetiracetam can help cognitive improvement, and contribute to seizure control in these patients. Palabras clave: Infancia, Epilepsia, Electroencefalograma, Síndrome de Lennox-Gastaut, Levetiracetam, Keywords: Childhood, Epilepsy, Electroencephalogram, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, Levetiraceta

A Supervised Learning Model for the Automatic Assessment of Language Levels Based on Learner Errors

International audienceThis paper focuses on the use of technology in language learning. Language training requires the need to group learners homogeneously and to provide them with instant feedback on their productions such as errors [8, 15, 17] or proficiency levels. A possible approach is to assess writings from students and assign them with a level. This paper analyses the possibility of automatically predicting Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) language levels on the basis of manually annotated errors in a written learner corpus [9, 11]. The research question is to evaluate the predictive power of errors in terms of levels and to identify which error types appear to be criterial features in determining interlanguage stages. Results show that specific errors such as punctuation, spelling and verb tense are significant at specific CEFR levels

Evaluating and Automating the Annotation of a Learner Corpus

The paper describes a corpus of texts produced by non-native speakersof Czech. We discuss its annotation scheme, consisting of three interlinked tiers,designed to handle a wide range of error types present in the input. Each tier correctsdifferent types of errors; links between the tiers allow capturing errors in word orderand complex discontinuous expressions. Errors are not only corrected, but alsoclassified. The annotation scheme is tested on a data set including approx. 175,000words with fair inter-annotator agreement results. We also explore the possibility ofapplying automated linguistic annotation tools (taggers, spell checkers and grammarcheckers) to the learner text to support or even substitute manual annotation

Developing linguistic theories using annotated corpora

This paper aims to carve out a place for corpus research within theoretical linguistics and psycholinguistics. We argue that annotated corpora naturally complement native speaker intuitions and controlled psycholinguistic methods and thus can be powerful tools for developing and evaluating linguistic theories. We also review basic methods and best practices for moving from corpus annotations to hypothesis formation and testing, offering practical advice and technical guidance to researchers wishing to incorporate corpus methods into their work