Objectives: We aimed to investigate the effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak on the quality of life (QOL) of patients with epilepsy. Methods: A total of 104 epilepsy patients admitted to our hospital during October and November of 2019 were evaluated for their QOL using the QOL in Epilepsy-31 questionnaire. These assessments were repeated in July 2020 and August 2020 to evaluate the impact of the epidemic on the QOL of epilepsy patients in the same group. The data of the patients were analyzed in SPSS. Results: During the pandemic period, overall score values decreased significantly compared to the pre-pandemic period (p=0.049). Although most of the subscores worsened with the pandemic, the most significant deterioration was observed in emotional well-being (p=0.021). There were six patients (5.8%) whose seizure frequency increased during the pandemic period. In the multivariate analysis, the only parameter that predicted an increase in seizure frequency during COVID-19 was the overall score. Overall score had a positive correlation with educational level. Disease duration, age, marital status, and number of drugs used were found to be negatively correlated with the overall score of the patients. Conclusion: The COVID-19 epidemic causes a significant deterioration in QOL in patients with epilepsy. During epidemics such as COVID-19, clinicians should consider psychosocial factors. In patients with epilepsy, measures should be taken not only to control seizures but also to prevent deterioration in mental health and QOL.
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Objectives: Creutzfeldt- Jakob Disease (CJD) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by abnormally-shaped proteins. CJD is the most common type of prion diseases with incidence of 1/100000 per year. In this study, we aimed to review clinical, laboratory, electrophysiological and radiological findings and prognosis of 21 cases with the diagnosis of CJD. Methods: A retrospective review of patient records in a single institution was performed to identify patients with sporadic CJD from 2010 to 2018. January 2017 diagnostic criteria were used for inclusion. In this study, 21 patients were included for analysis. Demographic features, symptoms, clinical findings of neurological examination, disease duration, laboratory findings, electrophysiological test results, findings of magnetic resonance imaging and prognosis were documented. Results: Twelve of the patients included in this study were male and nine were female. The mean age was 64.1 (49–79). All the patients had dementia and changes in personality at admission to the hospital. The duration of complaints was 5.4±4 months. Periodic sharp wave complexes were observed in the electroencephalogram at baseline or follow-up. Twenty patients had undergone lumbar puncture to identify 14.3.3 protein tests in cerebrospinal fluid. In six of twelve patients whose results were received, 14.3.3 protein level was positive, whereas four of them were negative and two were at borderline. Seven patients died of the disease during the follow-up in our hospital within 2.8 (1–6) months from the symptom onset. Conclusion: In patients with rapidly progressive dementia, behavioral changes, hallucinations and myoclonus, CJD should be kept in mind for earlier diagnosis.
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