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Epilepsy is a prevalent chronic neurological disorder, with approximately one-third of patients experiencing intractable epilepsy, often necessitating surgical intervention. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the thalamus has been introduced as a palliative surgical option for seizure control; however, its precise mechanisms remain largely unclear. The thalamus plays a crucial role in coordinating neural networks, both in normal brain function and the propagation of epileptic activity. This study aims to investigate the involvement of the thalamus in epilepsy networks using stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG) to monitor thalamic activity during epileptic seizures in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy.
This single-arm, non-randomised, prospective, exploratory study will be conducted at Nagoya University Hospital, involving 10 patients undergoing SEEG for presurgical evaluation of drug-resistant epilepsy. Participants must be 18 years or older, have normal cognitive function and provide informed consent. Between 7 and 14 SEEG electrodes, including 2 in the bilateral thalamus, will be implanted in key thalamic nuclei (anterior, dorsomedial, centromedian and pulvinar) using a robotic system. The primary outcome focuses on electroencephalographic findings from the thalamus, emphasising waveform and frequency changes around seizures. Secondary outcomes include postoperative seizure frequency, changes in cognitive function and neuroimaging results. SEEG data will be recorded continuously for 1–2 weeks to capture both ictal and interictal activity. Data analysis will employ t-tests to compare ictal and interictal periods, with p values
This study was approved by the ethics committee of the Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine (Approval No. 2024-0044). All participants will provide written informed consent prior to enrolment. The results of this study will be disseminated through publication in a peer-reviewed journal and presentations at academic conferences.
jRCT1042240024.
by Akiyo Sasaki-Otomaru, Kyoko Saito, Kotaro Yamasue, Osamu Tochikubo, Yuka Kanoya
Wearable devices have the potential to promote a healthy lifestyle; however, studies on the use of wearable devices in monitoring health in older adults are limited. We aimed to investigate the relationship of sleep and activity data with health status among older adults. Fifty-five community-dwelling older adults were asked to wear a wristwatch-type wearable device (the Pulsense [PS]) and measure home blood pressure (HBP) over a period of 5–7 consecutive days. Deep-sleep duration, physical and mental activity duration, and body-movement duration were obtained from PS data using special software. We also collected data on demographics and physical and mental health status. We found that the body-movement duration in women was longer than that in men. Among men, body-movement duration was strongly and negatively correlated with the Kihon Checklist (KCL) score. It also showed moderate correlations with the Geriatric Depression score, physical functioning, bodily pain, vitality, social function, and role emotional scores from the Medical Outcomes Survey Short Form-8 questionnaire, as well as with hand-grip strength. There was no significant correlation between monitoring data and health status in women. In the multiple linear regression analysis, body-movement duration was negatively associated with age and the KCL score. KCL is a common questionnaire for screening frailty in Japan. Our results showed that body-movement duration was negatively associated with age and the KCL score, suggesting the potential of PS in guiding personalized health management of older community-dwelling adults with risks of frailty.
FreshRSS 