Alberto Cossu
Verified @studenti.univr.it
Scopus Publications
Scopus Publications
A. Cossu, J. L. Santos, Giulia Galati, M. Nikanorova, P. Costa, Y. Mang, A. Silahtaroglu, G. Rubboli, N. Tommerup, B. dalla Bernardina,et al.
Tommaso Lo Barco, Francesca Offredi, Eva Castino, Jacopo Proietti, Alberto Cossu, Elena Fiorini, Elena Fontana, Gaetano Cantalupo, Bernardo Dalla Bernardina, and Francesca Darra
Wiley
AIM
To explore the feasibility of using an adaptive behaviour profile (ABP) assessment generated from a well-known measure-the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, Second Edition (VABS-II)-as an instrument for outcome measures in adolescents and adults with Dravet syndrome.
METHOD
We administered the VABS-II to 35 adolescents and adults with Dravet syndrome (15 males; mean age 24 years, SD 8 years, range: 12-46 years) and collected epilepsy history and neurological features at the time of assessment. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of VABS-II raw scores and performed cluster analysis to identify different subgroups. We then explored possible relationships between clinical and epilepsy features, ABPs, and age.
RESULTS
Most participants obtained the minimum standard scores in the various VABS-II subdomains, while the raw score analysis outlined interindividual and intraindividual differences among skills. We found two subpopulations: one with a 'lower' ABP and one with a 'higher' ABP, corresponding respectively to individuals in whom myoclonic seizures or generalized spike-and-wave activity were present ('complete phenotype') or absent ('incomplete phenotype') on electroencephalography.
INTERPRETATION
This study further delineates the natural history of Dravet syndrome. The assessment of an ABP through the VABS-II raw score analysis provides a means by which to illustrate profiles of adaptive behaviour in adolescents and adults with Dravet syndrome but shows limitations related to poor sensitivity in measuring fine clinical details. There is a need for new and more specific tools to monitor patients with developmental and epileptic encephalopathies.
A. Cossu, T. Lo Barco, J. Proietti, B. Dalla Bernardina, G. Cantalupo, L. Ghobert, I. Brambilla, E. Giarola, A. Costa, T. De Benito,et al.
Elsevier BV
Tommaso Lo Barco, Laura Corona, Roberta Solazzi, Elena Fiorini, Giulia Galati, Alberto Cossu, Jacopo Proietti, Stefano Francione, Bernardo Dalla Bernardina, Francesca Darra,et al.
Wiley
Bruna Nucera, Fabrizio Rinaldi, Fedele Dono, Giacomo Evangelista, Stefano Consoli, Jacopo Proietti, Jacopo Lanzone, Tommaso Lo Barco, Maria Tappatà, Alberto Cossu,et al.
Wiley
Pietro Mattioli, Evy Cleeren, Levente Hadady, Alberto Cossu, Thomas Cloppenborg, Dario Arnaldi, and Sándor Beniczky
MDPI AG
Electric source imaging (ESI) estimates the cortical generator of the electroencephalography (EEG) signals recorded with scalp electrodes. ESI has gained increasing interest for the presurgical evaluation of patients with drug-resistant focal epilepsy. In spite of a standardised analysis pipeline, several aspects tailored to the individual patient involve subjective decisions of the expert performing the analysis, such as the selection of the analysed signals (interictal epileptiform discharges and seizures, identification of the onset epoch and time-point of the analysis). Our goal was to investigate the inter-analyser agreement of ESI in presurgical evaluations of epilepsy, using the same software and analysis pipeline. Six experts, of whom five had no previous experience in ESI, independently performed interictal and ictal ESI of 25 consecutive patients (17 temporal, 8 extratemporal) who underwent presurgical evaluation. The overall agreement among experts for the ESI methods was substantial (AC1 = 0.65; 95% CI: 0.59–0.71), and there was no significant difference between the methods. Our results suggest that using a standardised analysis pipeline, newly trained experts reach similar ESI solutions, calling for more standardisation in this emerging clinical application in neuroimaging.
Alberto Cossu, Tommaso Lo Barco, Francesca Darra, Elena Fontana, Elena Fiorini, Martina Marangone, Paolo Biban, Bernardo Dalla Bernardina, and Gaetano Cantalupo
Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
New-onset refractory status epilepticus (NORSE) is rare condition, and sharing knowledge is vital in its management, based on strict collaboration between multiple specialists, continuous EEG (c-EEG) monitoring, and prompt therapy modification. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic challenged many of these established practices because of “social distancing” measures, making it necessary to work around physical restrictions. We report a case of a 10-year-old with NORSE admitted in a pediatric intensive-care unit and monitored with c-EEG and amplitude-integrated EEG. The monitoring interface was livestreamed using videoconference web-based platforms allowing remote viewing. Multiple daily web meetings took place between team members, where real-time therapy response was evaluated and confronted with medium-term trends in the epileptic activity, dictating further treatment and diagnostic steps. In addition to the known use of telemedicine in chronic conditions, we report how its use can be exploited to treat urgent conditions such as NORSE. By taking advantage of new tools and virtual environments, we were able to share treatment and diagnostic decisions and guarantee real-time therapy adjustments and a coherent course in treatment despite restrictions necessary for the COVID-19 pandemic. The constant specialist monitoring and the coherent and on-time communication of the patient's condition relieved the family stress, usually complained in these situations.
Nicola Specchio, Nicola Pietrafusa, Viola Doccini, Marina Trivisano, Francesca Darra, Francesca Ragona, Alberto Cossu, Silvia Spolverato, Domenica Battaglia, Michela Quintiliani,et al.
Wiley
Dravet syndrome (DS) is a drug‐resistant, infantile onset epilepsy syndrome with multiple seizure types and developmental delay. In recently published randomized controlled trials, fenfluramine (FFA) proved to be safe and effective in DS.
G. Rocchitta, A.T. Peana, G. Bazzu, A. Cossu, S. Carta, P. Arrigo, A. Bacciu, R. Migheli, D. Farina, M. Zinellu,et al.
Elsevier BV