Colin Ferrie - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Colin Ferrie
The Lancet. Child & adolescent health, 2018
Infantile spasms constitute a severe form of epileptic encephalopathy. In the International Colla... more Infantile spasms constitute a severe form of epileptic encephalopathy. In the International Collaborative Infantile Spasms Study (ICISS), we showed that combining vigabatrin with hormonal therapy was more effective than hormonal therapy alone at stopping spasms between days 14 and 42 of treatment. In this planned follow-up, we aimed to assess whether combination therapy was associated with improved developmental and epilepsy outcomes at 18 months of age. In ICISS, a multicentre, open-label, randomised controlled trial, infants were enrolled from 102 hospitals (three in Australia, 11 in Germany, two in New Zealand, three in Switzerland, and 83 in the UK). Eligible infants had a clinical diagnosis of infantile spasms and a hypsarrhythmic (or similar) electroencephalogram (EEG) no more than 7 days before enrolment. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) by a secure website to receive hormonal therapy with vigabatrin or hormonal therapy alone. If parents consented, there was an addit...
Journal of Pediatric Neurology
Journal of Pediatric Neurology, 2015
Journal of Pediatric Neurology, 2015
Epileptic Disorders International Epilepsy Journal With Videotape, Mar 1, 2010
Epileptic disorders : international epilepsy journal with videotape, Jan 20, 2016
The term idiopathic focal epilepsies of childhood (IFE) is not formally recognised by the ILAE in... more The term idiopathic focal epilepsies of childhood (IFE) is not formally recognised by the ILAE in its 2010 revision (Berg et al., 2010), nor are its members and boundaries precisely delineated. The IFEs are amongst the most commonly encountered epilepsy syndromes affecting children. They are fascinating disorders that hold many "treats" for both clinicians and researchers. For example, the IFEs pose many of the most interesting questions central to epileptology: how are functional brain networks involved in the manifestation of epilepsy? What are the shared mechanisms of comorbidity between epilepsy and neurodevelopmental disorders? How do focal EEG discharges impact cognitive functioning? What explains the age-related expression of these syndromes? Why are EEG discharges and seizures so tightly locked to slow-wave sleep? In the last few decades, the clinical symptomatology and the respective courses of many IFEs have been described, although they are still not widely appr...
Pediatrics, Apr 1, 1999
To study the effect of vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) in children with epileptic encephalopathies.... more To study the effect of vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) in children with epileptic encephalopathies. All children receiving VNS during a 2-year period at our center were studied prospectively for changes in seizure frequency, electroencephalogram (EEG), adaptive behavior, quality of life, and where appropriate, verbal/nonverbal performance. Assessments were made before and for at least 1 year after implant. Sixteen children were studied. One device was removed because of infection. Of the remaining 15 children, 4 had a >50% reduction and 2 had a >50% increase in seizure frequency at 1 year after implant. Median reduction in seizure frequency was 17%. There was no trend toward improvement of the EEG or adaptive behavior. Quality of life was unchanged in most areas, except in perceived treatment side effects and general behavior that were improved. In 6 children undergoing further assessment, there was a significant improvement in verbal performance; this did not correlate with reduction in seizure frequency. VNS did not significantly improve seizure frequency, severity, adaptive behavior, or the EEG during the first year of treatment for the group as a whole, although 4 children (27%) had a worthwhile reduction in seizure frequency. There were significant improvements in perceived treatment side effects and general behavior.
Developmental Medicine Child Neurology, 2013
Clin Eeg Neurosci, 1995
We aimed to validate the technique of breath counting during overbreathing in revealing ictal imp... more We aimed to validate the technique of breath counting during overbreathing in revealing ictal impairment of cognition during brief generalized 3 Hz spike and slow wave discharges. A retrospective study of 66 patients with video-electroencephalographic documentation of typical absence seizures revealed 8 patients in whom there was no clinical suspicion of absences but who had brief (less than 4 seconds) generalized 3 Hz spike-wave discharges. The only clinical manifestations of the absences were abnormalities in breath counting during overbreathing. These consisted of slowing of speech, delay in counting, repetition of numbers and counting out of sequence combined with delay. Abnormalities were more likely to occur during longer discharges. Detection of these abnormalities led to important changes in the classification of the patients' epilepsies and in the recommendations for treatment. The technique of breath counting during overbreathing is a simple practical and reliable method for detecting even mild cognitive impairment during 3 Hz spike-wave discharges.
Develop Med Child Neurol, 2007
in clinical pictures and focal EEG-location during follow-up, even in the same patient. Moreover,... more in clinical pictures and focal EEG-location during follow-up, even in the same patient. Moreover, Ferrie et al. stated that around one-fifth of PS patients later develop other benign focal childhood epilepsies, usually consisting of Rolandic or visual seizures. Thus, we believe that the focal electroclinical characteristics of all benign focal childhood epilepsies should be included in the same age-related concept of benign childhood seizure susceptibility syndrome. The gradually increasing involvement of more extensive cortical areas, whose focal onset and spreading pathways are age-and myelinationrelated, might explain the complex symptomatology of the seizures, i.e. the younger the patient, the more autonomic the symptoms. We, therefore, feel it would be wiser to include PS in the unified concept of benign seizure susceptibility syndrome on account of the features it shares with other common benign seizure disorders, rather than separate it from other electroclinical disorders. In conclusion, would it not be better to stress what these benign childhood forms of epilepsy have in common as opposed to focusing on what differences there are between them?
Develop Med Child Neurol, 2007
Archives of Disease in Childhood, 2007
Archives of Disease in Childhood, Aug 1, 1999
Acta Neurol Scand, 2009
ABSTRACT
Epileptic Disorders International Epilepsy Journal With Videotape, Mar 1, 2002
Panayiotopoulos syndrome is a relatively common condition with susceptibility to early onset beni... more Panayiotopoulos syndrome is a relatively common condition with susceptibility to early onset benign childhood seizures, which manifests primarily with autonomic and mainly emetic symptoms. It predominantly affects children of 3-6 years of age (13% of those with one or more non-febrile seizures). EEG shows great variability, with occipital, extra-occipital spikes or brief generalised discharges alone or in combination; it may also be consistently normal. Occipital spikes do not occur in one third of children. Despite the high prevalence of autonomic status epilepticus, the prognosis of Panayiotopoulos syndrome is usually excellent. Remission usually occurs within 1-2 years from onset, one third have a single seizure but 5-10% may have more than 10 seizures or a more prolonged course. Atypical evolutions with absences, atonic seizures and intellectual deterioration are exceptional; only two cases have been previously reported. We present a girl who initially had a prolonged autonomic status epilepticus typical of Panayiotopoulos syndrome, followed by seizures, with concurrent symptoms of Rolandic epilepsy. She then had an atypical evolution with atypical absences, absence status epilepticus, atonic seizures and mild impairment of scholastic performance. The case emphasises the close links between Panayiotopoulos syndrome and Rolandic epilepsy, both of which probably represent different clinical phenotypes of a maturational-related benign childhood seizure susceptibility syndrome [published with videosequences].
Epileptic Disorders International Epilepsy Journal With Videotape, Jun 29, 2001
A syndrome of idiopathic generalised epilepsy with phantom absences of undetermined onset has bee... more A syndrome of idiopathic generalised epilepsy with phantom absences of undetermined onset has been recently described. This syndrome clinically becomes apparent in adulthood with generalised tonic clonic seizures and frequently absence status epilepticus. We report an 11 year-old normal girl with frequent episodes of absence status and no other overt clinical manifestations. However, appropriate video-EEG recordings documented that she had frequent absence seizures that were so mild as to escape recognition by her and the parents. These consisted of mild impairment of cognition and eyelid fluttering during brief generalised discharges of spike/multiple spike and slow waves. No further seizures occurred and the EEG normalised after appropriate drug treatment. Thus, it appears that this syndrome of phantom absences and absence status may start much earlier, in late childhood. Appropriate video-EEG documentation is needed for the recognition of these patients that may be more common than it appears from the few published cases (with Video).
Develop Med Child Neurol, 2007
Acta Neurologica Scandinavica
ABSTRACT
The Lancet. Child & adolescent health, 2018
Infantile spasms constitute a severe form of epileptic encephalopathy. In the International Colla... more Infantile spasms constitute a severe form of epileptic encephalopathy. In the International Collaborative Infantile Spasms Study (ICISS), we showed that combining vigabatrin with hormonal therapy was more effective than hormonal therapy alone at stopping spasms between days 14 and 42 of treatment. In this planned follow-up, we aimed to assess whether combination therapy was associated with improved developmental and epilepsy outcomes at 18 months of age. In ICISS, a multicentre, open-label, randomised controlled trial, infants were enrolled from 102 hospitals (three in Australia, 11 in Germany, two in New Zealand, three in Switzerland, and 83 in the UK). Eligible infants had a clinical diagnosis of infantile spasms and a hypsarrhythmic (or similar) electroencephalogram (EEG) no more than 7 days before enrolment. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) by a secure website to receive hormonal therapy with vigabatrin or hormonal therapy alone. If parents consented, there was an addit...
Journal of Pediatric Neurology
Journal of Pediatric Neurology, 2015
Journal of Pediatric Neurology, 2015
Epileptic Disorders International Epilepsy Journal With Videotape, Mar 1, 2010
Epileptic disorders : international epilepsy journal with videotape, Jan 20, 2016
The term idiopathic focal epilepsies of childhood (IFE) is not formally recognised by the ILAE in... more The term idiopathic focal epilepsies of childhood (IFE) is not formally recognised by the ILAE in its 2010 revision (Berg et al., 2010), nor are its members and boundaries precisely delineated. The IFEs are amongst the most commonly encountered epilepsy syndromes affecting children. They are fascinating disorders that hold many "treats" for both clinicians and researchers. For example, the IFEs pose many of the most interesting questions central to epileptology: how are functional brain networks involved in the manifestation of epilepsy? What are the shared mechanisms of comorbidity between epilepsy and neurodevelopmental disorders? How do focal EEG discharges impact cognitive functioning? What explains the age-related expression of these syndromes? Why are EEG discharges and seizures so tightly locked to slow-wave sleep? In the last few decades, the clinical symptomatology and the respective courses of many IFEs have been described, although they are still not widely appr...
Pediatrics, Apr 1, 1999
To study the effect of vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) in children with epileptic encephalopathies.... more To study the effect of vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) in children with epileptic encephalopathies. All children receiving VNS during a 2-year period at our center were studied prospectively for changes in seizure frequency, electroencephalogram (EEG), adaptive behavior, quality of life, and where appropriate, verbal/nonverbal performance. Assessments were made before and for at least 1 year after implant. Sixteen children were studied. One device was removed because of infection. Of the remaining 15 children, 4 had a >50% reduction and 2 had a >50% increase in seizure frequency at 1 year after implant. Median reduction in seizure frequency was 17%. There was no trend toward improvement of the EEG or adaptive behavior. Quality of life was unchanged in most areas, except in perceived treatment side effects and general behavior that were improved. In 6 children undergoing further assessment, there was a significant improvement in verbal performance; this did not correlate with reduction in seizure frequency. VNS did not significantly improve seizure frequency, severity, adaptive behavior, or the EEG during the first year of treatment for the group as a whole, although 4 children (27%) had a worthwhile reduction in seizure frequency. There were significant improvements in perceived treatment side effects and general behavior.
Developmental Medicine Child Neurology, 2013
Clin Eeg Neurosci, 1995
We aimed to validate the technique of breath counting during overbreathing in revealing ictal imp... more We aimed to validate the technique of breath counting during overbreathing in revealing ictal impairment of cognition during brief generalized 3 Hz spike and slow wave discharges. A retrospective study of 66 patients with video-electroencephalographic documentation of typical absence seizures revealed 8 patients in whom there was no clinical suspicion of absences but who had brief (less than 4 seconds) generalized 3 Hz spike-wave discharges. The only clinical manifestations of the absences were abnormalities in breath counting during overbreathing. These consisted of slowing of speech, delay in counting, repetition of numbers and counting out of sequence combined with delay. Abnormalities were more likely to occur during longer discharges. Detection of these abnormalities led to important changes in the classification of the patients' epilepsies and in the recommendations for treatment. The technique of breath counting during overbreathing is a simple practical and reliable method for detecting even mild cognitive impairment during 3 Hz spike-wave discharges.
Develop Med Child Neurol, 2007
in clinical pictures and focal EEG-location during follow-up, even in the same patient. Moreover,... more in clinical pictures and focal EEG-location during follow-up, even in the same patient. Moreover, Ferrie et al. stated that around one-fifth of PS patients later develop other benign focal childhood epilepsies, usually consisting of Rolandic or visual seizures. Thus, we believe that the focal electroclinical characteristics of all benign focal childhood epilepsies should be included in the same age-related concept of benign childhood seizure susceptibility syndrome. The gradually increasing involvement of more extensive cortical areas, whose focal onset and spreading pathways are age-and myelinationrelated, might explain the complex symptomatology of the seizures, i.e. the younger the patient, the more autonomic the symptoms. We, therefore, feel it would be wiser to include PS in the unified concept of benign seizure susceptibility syndrome on account of the features it shares with other common benign seizure disorders, rather than separate it from other electroclinical disorders. In conclusion, would it not be better to stress what these benign childhood forms of epilepsy have in common as opposed to focusing on what differences there are between them?
Develop Med Child Neurol, 2007
Archives of Disease in Childhood, 2007
Archives of Disease in Childhood, Aug 1, 1999
Acta Neurol Scand, 2009
ABSTRACT
Epileptic Disorders International Epilepsy Journal With Videotape, Mar 1, 2002
Panayiotopoulos syndrome is a relatively common condition with susceptibility to early onset beni... more Panayiotopoulos syndrome is a relatively common condition with susceptibility to early onset benign childhood seizures, which manifests primarily with autonomic and mainly emetic symptoms. It predominantly affects children of 3-6 years of age (13% of those with one or more non-febrile seizures). EEG shows great variability, with occipital, extra-occipital spikes or brief generalised discharges alone or in combination; it may also be consistently normal. Occipital spikes do not occur in one third of children. Despite the high prevalence of autonomic status epilepticus, the prognosis of Panayiotopoulos syndrome is usually excellent. Remission usually occurs within 1-2 years from onset, one third have a single seizure but 5-10% may have more than 10 seizures or a more prolonged course. Atypical evolutions with absences, atonic seizures and intellectual deterioration are exceptional; only two cases have been previously reported. We present a girl who initially had a prolonged autonomic status epilepticus typical of Panayiotopoulos syndrome, followed by seizures, with concurrent symptoms of Rolandic epilepsy. She then had an atypical evolution with atypical absences, absence status epilepticus, atonic seizures and mild impairment of scholastic performance. The case emphasises the close links between Panayiotopoulos syndrome and Rolandic epilepsy, both of which probably represent different clinical phenotypes of a maturational-related benign childhood seizure susceptibility syndrome [published with videosequences].
Epileptic Disorders International Epilepsy Journal With Videotape, Jun 29, 2001
A syndrome of idiopathic generalised epilepsy with phantom absences of undetermined onset has bee... more A syndrome of idiopathic generalised epilepsy with phantom absences of undetermined onset has been recently described. This syndrome clinically becomes apparent in adulthood with generalised tonic clonic seizures and frequently absence status epilepticus. We report an 11 year-old normal girl with frequent episodes of absence status and no other overt clinical manifestations. However, appropriate video-EEG recordings documented that she had frequent absence seizures that were so mild as to escape recognition by her and the parents. These consisted of mild impairment of cognition and eyelid fluttering during brief generalised discharges of spike/multiple spike and slow waves. No further seizures occurred and the EEG normalised after appropriate drug treatment. Thus, it appears that this syndrome of phantom absences and absence status may start much earlier, in late childhood. Appropriate video-EEG documentation is needed for the recognition of these patients that may be more common than it appears from the few published cases (with Video).
Develop Med Child Neurol, 2007
Acta Neurologica Scandinavica
ABSTRACT