C3435T polymorphism of ABCB1 gene was demonstrated in vivo to significantly influence the CSF/S PB concentration ratio and seizure frequency.

ABCB1 C1236T, G2677T/A, C3435T polymorphisms have an influence on lamotrigine serum concentrations.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the late 2019 outbreak of Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), causes a respiratory disease which could put myasthenia gravis patients at a greater risk of developing severe disease course. This paper presents a single-institution case series of hospitalized myasthenia gravis patients with COVID 19. We identified eight patients previously diagnosed with myasthenia gravis, four of whom presented with clear signs of myasthenia gravis symptom worsening on admission. No form of respiratory support was needed during the complete duration of stay for three patients, oxygen therapy was administered to two patients, while the remaining three patients required mechanical ventilation. Treatment was successful for seven patients, six of whom were discharged without any myasthenia gravis symptoms. One patient died after eleven days of intensive care unit treatment. Although treatment of patients with myasthenia gravis and COVID-19 patients is challenging, case series of myasthenia gravis patients with COVID-19 treated in our institution demonstrates relatively favorable treatment outcome. Our data seem to support the notion that immunosuppressive medication does not seem to result in worse outcomes. Our data also support the notion that intravenous immunoglobulin treatment is safe and should be administered to patients with myasthenia gravis and COVID-19 in case of myasthenia gravis worsening since benefits seem to greatly outweigh the risks.

Epilepsy is a common disorder affecting up to 1% of the population. Complex partial seizures (CPS) occur in about 35% of patients with epilepsy. Twenty percent of patients with CPS have uncontrolled seizures, refractory to anticonvulsant therapy. The etiology of epilepsy is often multifactorial, with 60-70% of all cases without clear cause, although much is known about the physiological bases of abnormal discharges accompanying seizure phenomena. It seems likely that there is a primary defect in the neuronal membrane that results in the instability of the resting membrane potential [1]. There is no clear biological Abstract Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) is a constituent of many types of lipoproteins that play a role in metabolism of cholesterol and lipids in the body as well as in the brain. ApoE is synthesised in astrocytes and microglia and enter to neurons through LDL, LRP and VLDL receptors. Recently it was shown that ApoE is also produced in neurons. ApoE has a role in modulating learning and memory, structural plasticity, mobilization of cholesterol in repair, growth and maintenance of myelin and neuronal membranes during development and aging, and cell death after ischemic, convulsive, or other type of brain injury. The aim of this research was to investigate the possible association of ApoE gene polymorphism with the development of resistance to pharmacological therapy in patients with partial complex seizures with or without secondary generalization. In this prospective matched-pair controlled study, 60 patients with cryptogenic epilepsy with complex partial seizures, with or without secondary generalization, who have been suffering for five or more years, were studied. The first group comprised 30 patients refractory to the current therapy, while the second group consisted of patients with well-controlled seizures. The refractory and non-refractory groups of patients differed significantly in their phenotypes. Phenotype E3/4 was six times more frequent in refractory group than among non-refractory group. The lack of response was shown to be significantly associated with the presence of ε4 allele. This study provided evidence that the presence of ε4 allele is more often associated with a lack of response to current antiepileptic drugs as compared to ε2 and ε3 alleles.

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