Mei-Hua Yang

Publications (3)6.64 Total impact

• Article: Expression of Bone Morphogenetic Protein-4 in the Cortical Lesions of Focal Cortical Dysplasia IIb and the Tuberous Sclerosis Complex.

  Wei Guo, Chun-Qing Zhang, Hai-Feng Shu, Mei-Hua Yang, Qing Yin, Hui Yang
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  ABSTRACT: Focal cortical dysplasia type IIb (FCD IIb) and tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) are malformations of cortical development (MCDs) and are frequently associated with medically intractable epilepsy. Previous studies have indicated that developmental abnormalities during the early stages of cortical development contribute to the onset of these diseases. Bone morphogenetic protein-4 (BMP-4) is a well-documented key regulator of cortical development. To understand the potential roles of BMP-4 in the cortical lesions associated with MCDs, we investigated the expression pattern of BMP-4 in surgical specimens from patients with FCD IIb (n = 8) and TSC (cortical tubers; n = 12), and age-matched normal cortices (CTX) (n = 8) from autopsy samples were used as controls. The immunohistochemical results demonstrated that the overall immunoreactivity of the BMP-4 staining was diminished in the dysplastic cortices of the FCD IIb and TSC samples compared to the CTX samples. Moderate to strong BMP-4 immunoreactivity, however, was observed in malformed neurons, including dysmorphic neurons, giant neurons, balloon cells, giant cells, and reactive astrocytes. The confocal analysis demonstrated that most malformed neurons expressing BMP-4 were co-labeled with neuronal rather than astrocytic markers, indicating a neuronal lineage. Moreover, the decreased BMP-4 expression within the dysplastic cortex was confirmed by western blot analysis. In conclusion, the downregulation and altered cellular distribution of BMP-4 protein observed in MCDs suggests that BMP-4 may be involved in the pathogenesis of abnormal cortical development.
  Journal of Molecular Neuroscience 07/2012; · 2.50 Impact Factor
• Article: Surgical treatment for epilepsy in 17 children with tuberous sclerosis-related West syndrome.

  Shi-Yong Liu, Ning An, Mei-Hua Yang, Zhi Hou, Yong Liu, Wei Liao, Qin Zhang, Fang-Cheng Cai, Hui Yang
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  ABSTRACT: The efficacy of surgery for the treatment of epilepsy in patients with West syndrome secondary to tuberous sclerosis is unclear. The charts of 17 patients with tuberous sclerosis and secondary West syndrome who underwent a one-stage surgical resection with a combined palliative operative procedure were reviewed. Engel classification was used to classify the patients with regard to seizure status following surgery. After surgery, 11 patients were in Engel class I, 4 in class II, and 2 in class III. The EEG after surgery was normal in 8 patients, significantly improved in 8, and without significant improvement in 1 patient. Six patients had a recurrence of seizures after surgery, which included 3 patients with continuing spasms and 3 patients where the spasms had resolved but had developed either partial seizures or generalized tonic-clonic seizures. There were significant improvements in the Gesell Developmental Schedules for motor field (P=0.003), adaptive field (P=0.003), language field (P=0.033), and personal-social field (P=0.007). Thus, a one-stage surgical approach can be used to produce satisfactory outcomes in young children with tuberous sclerosis who have secondary West syndrome and seizures that do not respond to conventional antiepileptic therapy, even in when there are multiple epileptogenic foci.
  Epilepsy research 03/2012; 101(1-2):36-45. · 2.48 Impact Factor
• Source

  Available from: Chang-Qing Gao

  Article: Surgical treatment of patients with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome phenotype.

  Shi-Yong Liu, Ning An, Xiang Fang, Prabhdeep Singh, Joseph Oommen, Qing Yin, Mei-Hua Yang, Yong Liu, Wei Liao, Chang-Qing Gao, Hui Yang
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  ABSTRACT: Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS) is a devastating and refractory generalized epilepsy affecting children and adolescents. In this study we report the results of resective surgery in 18 patients with LGS phenotype who underwent single-lobe/lesionectomy or multilobe resection plus multiple subpial transection and/or callosotomy. After surgery, seven patients became completely seizure-free (Engel Class I) and five almost seizure-free (Engel Class II). Additional four had significant seizure control (Engel Class III), and two had no change in seizure frequency (Engel Class IV). Of the 4 patients without any lesion on brain MRI, 2 ended with Engel Class II, 1 with III and the other with IV in Engels' classification. Mean intelligence quotient (IQ) increased from 56.1 ± 8.1 (mean ± SD) before operation to 67.4 ± 8.2 (mean ± SD) after operation, a significant improvement (P = 0.001). Results also indicated that the younger the patient at surgery, or the shorter the interval between onset of seizure and resective operation, the better the intellectual outcome. Our data suggest that resective epilepsy surgery can be successful in patients with LGS phenotype as long as the EEG shows dominance of discharges in one hemisphere and corresponding ipsilateral imaging findings, even with contralateral ictal discharges.
  TheScientificWorldJOURNAL 01/2012; 2012:614263. · 1.66 Impact Factor