A nomogram to predict the treatment benefit of perampanel in drug-resistant epilepsy patients

ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to identify the factors that affect the efficacy of added perampanel for the treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE), and to develop a reliable nomogram to predict the benefit of this addition.MethodsA retrospective clinical analysis was conducted on DRE patients who received perampanel treatment and who were followed up for at least 6 months from January 2020 and September 2023 at the Epilepsy Center of Fujian Medical University Union Hospital. Data from January 2020 to December 2021 were used as development dataset to build model, while the data from January 2022 to September 2023 were used as validation dataset for internal validation. The predictive factors that affected the efficacy of perampanel as DRE treatment were included in the final multivariate logistic regression model, and a derived nomogram was established.ResultsA total of 119 DRE patients who received perampanel treatment were included in this study (development datasets: n = 76; validation data: n = 43). Among them, 72.3% (n = 86) showed a 50% or greater reduction in seizure frequency after perampanel treatment. Of all the parameters of interest, sex, age, history of generalized tonic-clonic seizures, and the number of antiseizure medications were identified as significant predictors for estimating the benefit of adding perampanel for the treatment of DRE. A model incorporating these four variables was developed, and a nomogram was constructed to calculate the probability of benefit of adding perampanel using the model coefficients. The C-index of the predictive model was 0.838, and the validation C-index was 0.756. The goodness-of-fit test showed good calibration of the model (p = 0.920, 0.752 respectively).ConclusionThe proposed nomogram has significant clinical potential for predicting the probability of benefit of perampanel as DRE treatment. This nomogram can be used to identify DRE patients who could benefit from the early addition of perampanel to their treatment regimen

Clinical Genetics of Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common progressive neurodegenerative disease and the most common form of dementia in the elderly. It is a complex disorder with environmental and genetic components. There are two major types of AD, early onset and the more common late onset. The genetics of early-onset AD are largely understood with mutations in three different genes leading to the disease. In contrast, while susceptibility loci and alleles associated with late-onset AD have been identified using genetic association studies, the genetics of late-onset Alzheimer’s disease are not fully understood. Here we review the known genetics of early- and late-onset AD, the clinical features of EOAD according to genotypes, and the clinical implications of the genetics of AD

Atrial Fibrillation and Clinical Outcomes of Endovascular Thrombectomy for Acute Ischemic Stroke: A Meta‐Analysis of Adjusted Effect Estimates

Background The impact of atrial fibrillation (AF) on the clinical outcomes in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) who received endovascular thrombectomy remains unclear. We aimed to perform a meta‐analysis of adjusted effect estimates to examine the association between the presence of AF and the clinical outcomes in patients with AIS who received endovascular thrombectomy. Methods and Results We searched PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane database between January 1, 2013 and July 10, 2023. Data were meta‐analyzed to compare the outcomes among patients with AIS with and without AF who received endovascular thrombectomy. Our primary outcome was 90‐day functional independence defined as a modified Rankin Scale score of 0 to 2. Secondary outcomes included excellent independence (90‐day modified Rankin Scale score of 0–1), 90‐day mortality, symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage, and any intracranial hemorrhage. Eighteen observational studies comprising 16 096 patients with AIS (mean age, 70.1 years; women, 48.2%; 6862 with AF versus 9234 without AF) were included. There were no statistically significant differences for modified Rankin Scale score of 0 to 2 (pooled odds ratio [OR], 1.14 [95% CI, 0.95–1.37]; [95% prediction interval [PI], 0.72–1.80]), mortality (OR, 0.92 [95% CI, 0.79–1.08]; [95% PI, 0.77–1.11]), symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (OR, 0.97 [95% CI, 0.71–1.32]; [95% PI, 0.43–2.17]), and any intracranial hemorrhage (OR, 1.08 [95% CI, 0.91–1.28]; [95% PI, 0.74–1.58]) among patients with AIS with and without AF. Conclusions This meta‐analysis detected no significant differences in 90‐day functional outcomes, mortality, and intracerebral hemorrhage risk after endovascular thrombectomy in patients with AIS with and without AF. Registration URL: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero; Unique identifier: CRD 42021293511