Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39831797›Full record

ArticleEpilepsia2025

The impact of radiofrequency thermocoagulation on brain connectivity in drug-resistant epilepsy: Insights from stereo-electroencephalography and cortico-cortical evoked potentials.

Justyna Gula, Rutger J Slegers, Raf H M Van Hoof, Balu Krishnan, Massimo Mischi, Vivianne H J M van Kranen-Mastenbroek, Ilse E C W Van Straaten, Danny Hilkman, Louis Wagner, Albert Colon and 5 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Epilepsia, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Radiofrequency thermocoagulation for the treatment of refractory focal status epilepticus.Epileptic disorders : international epilepsy journal with videotape · 2025
    Article
  6. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors.

Justyna GulaDepartment of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Rutger J SlegersAcademic Center for Epileptology (ACE), Kempenhaeghe/Maastricht UMC+, Maastricht & Heeze, Maastricht, The Netherlands.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2537-428X
Raf H M Van HoofAcademic Center for Epileptology (ACE), Kempenhaeghe/Maastricht UMC+, Maastricht & Heeze, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Balu KrishnanEpilepsy Center, Neurological Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1897-3359
Massimo MischiDepartment of Electrical Engineering, University of Eindhoven, Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Vivianne H J M van Kranen-MastenbroekAcademic Center for Epileptology (ACE), Kempenhaeghe/Maastricht UMC+, Maastricht & Heeze, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Ilse E C W Van StraatenAcademic Center for Epileptology (ACE), Kempenhaeghe/Maastricht UMC+, Maastricht & Heeze, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Danny HilkmanAcademic Center for Epileptology (ACE), Kempenhaeghe/Maastricht UMC+, Maastricht & Heeze, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Louis WagnerAcademic Center for Epileptology (ACE), Kempenhaeghe/Maastricht UMC+, Maastricht & Heeze, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Albert ColonAcademic Center for Epileptology (ACE), Kempenhaeghe/Maastricht UMC+, Maastricht & Heeze, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Olaf E M G SchijnsAcademic Center for Epileptology (ACE), Kempenhaeghe/Maastricht UMC+, Maastricht & Heeze, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Borbála HunyadiSignal Processing Systems Section, Department of Microelectronics, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands.
Jacobus F A JansenDepartment of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, The Netherlands.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5271-8060
Simon TousseynAcademic Center for Epileptology (ACE), Kempenhaeghe/Maastricht UMC+, Maastricht & Heeze, Maastricht, The Netherlands.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4139-0909
ACE Epilepsy Surgery group

Funding

EpilepsieNL 23-08
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo investigate whether local lesions created by stereo-electroencephalography (SEEG)-guided radiofrequency thermocoagulation (RFTC) affect distant brain connectivity and excitability in patients with focal, drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE).

methodsTen patients with focal DRE underwent SEEG implantation and subsequently 1 Hz bipolar repetitive electrical stimulation (RES) for 30 s before and after RFTC. Root mean square (RMS) of cortico-cortical evoked potentials (CCEPs) was calculated for 15 ms to 300 ms post-stimulation with baseline correction. Contact pairs were categorized as both coagulated, hybrid, or both non-coagulated. The data were divided into nine categories based on the stimulating and recording contact pair combinations. RMS of CCEPs was compared before and after (<12 h) RFTC using a two-sample t test (Hochberg corrected, p < 0.05) for each patient. Boost score, indicating power increase during seizures before RFTC relative to baseline, was analyzed in 4 s windows with 1 s overlap during seizure duration.

resultsRFTC altered connectivity across all categories. Of interest, decreases and increases in RMS were observed in connections between non-coagulated contacts distant from coagulation site (range: 1.09-85 mm, median = 17.7 mm, interquartile range [IQR] 10.1-32.3). Contact pairs involved in significantly altered non-coagulated connections showed a higher boost score correlation in the theta, beta, and gamma bands, as well as a stronger maximum correlation with coagulated sites in the delta band than contacts for which connectivity did not change after RFTC. SIGNIFICANCE: This study highlights how local lesions alter distant brain connectivity, providing insights for future research on epilepsy network changes and seizure outcomes following RFTC.

Indexed as

BrainCerebral CortexDrug Resistant EpilepsyElectrocoagulationElectroencephalographyEvoked PotentialsAdolescentAdultFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedStereotaxic TechniquesYoung Adulteffective connectivityexcitabilityRFTCSEEG

Identifiers

PMID39831797
PMCPMC11997927

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.