Citations

Background: The clinical benefit of patent foramen ovale (PFO) closure in patients with cryptogenic stroke (CS) for recurrent stroke prevention has been a subject of extensive debate. Prior clinical trials failed to show superiority of PFO closure versus medical therapy. Meta-analyses suggested a possible benefit of PFO closure in select patients. Objective: The objective of this study was to critically assess current evidence regarding the efficacy of PFO closure compared with medical therapy for recurrent stroke prevention in patients with CS. Methods: The objective was addressed through the development of a structured critically appraised topic. This included a clinical scenario with a clinical question, literature search strategy, critical appraisal, results, evidence summary, commentary, and bottom line conclusions. Participants included consultant and resident neurologists, medical librarian, and vascular neurology and interventional cardiology content experts. Results: A randomized, controlled trial was selected for critical appraisal. This trial compared the efficacy of PFO closure and medical therapy in recurrent stroke prevention. A total of 663 patients who had a recent CS attributed to PFO, with a large interatrial shunt or with an associated atrial septal aneurysm were included. No stroke occurred among the 238 patients in the PFO closure group, whereas 14 of the 235 patients in the antiplatelet therapy group had recurrent strokes. Conclusions: Among patients who had a recent CS attributed to PFO with a large interatrial shunt or with an associated atrial septal aneurysm, the rate of stroke recurrence was lower among those assigned to PFO closure combined with antiplatelet therapy than among those assigned to antiplatelet therapy alone.

Background: Catamenial epilepsy refers to cyclic seizure exacerbation in relation to the menstrual cycle. Three distinct patterns have been described: C1-perimenstrual, C2-periovulatory, and C3-inadequate luteal. There is experimental and clinical evidence that gonadal steroid hormones affect neuronal excitability with estrogens being mainly proconvulsant and progesterone anticonvulsant. If reproductive steroids have a role in seizure occurrence, they may also have a role in treatment. Objective: The objective of this study was to critically assess current evidence regarding the efficacy of progesterone as adjunctive therapy in women with intractable catamenial epilepsy. Methods: The objective was addressed through the development of a structured critically appraised topic. This included a clinical scenario with a clinical question, literature search strategy, critical appraisal, results, evidence summary, commentary, and bottom line conclusions. Participants included consultant and resident neurologists, medical librarian, and content experts in the fields of epilepsy and gynecology. Results: A randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial was selected for critical appraisal. This trial compared the efficacy of adjunctive cyclic natural progesterone therapy versus placebo for seizures in women with intractable partial epilepsy, stratified by catamenial and noncatamenial status. There was no significant difference in proportions of responders between progesterone and placebo in the catamenial and noncatamenial strata. Prespecified secondary analysis showed that the level of perimenstrual seizure exacerbation is a significant predictor of the responder rate for progesterone therapy. Conclusions: Cyclic natural progesterone is not superior to placebo in reducing seizure frequency in women with intractable partial epilepsy. Posthoc findings suggest that progesterone may benefit a subset of women with perimenstrually exacerbated seizures.