Researchers have suggested that early use of immunotherapy may be beneficial in children with new-onset refractory status epilepticus (NORSE).
According to Dr Harshkumar Patel of Zydus Hospitals in Ahmedabad, India, NORSE is defined as new onset status epilepticus with no known cause in a patient with no pre-existing epilepsy or other neurological disorders. Febrile infection-related epilepsy syndrome (FIRES) is a subset of NORSE patients characterized by febrile infection between 24 hours and 2 weeks before the onset of status epilepticus.
Dr Patel and colleagues described the characteristics of children presenting with NORSE at 2 treatment centers between 2017 and 2019, and the effects of early immunotherapy in these patients.