Epilepsy and pregnancy: lamotrigine as main drug used.

Objectives: To study the risk of teratogenicity in infants of women with epilepsy.

Material And Methods: Prospective data from 1996 to 2000 comprised 147 pregnancies. The most frequent antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) used were lamotrigine (LTG) 35% (n = 51), oxcarbazepine (OXC) 25% (n = 37) and valproate (VPA) 20% (n = 30).

Intermittent prophylaxis in febrile convulsions: diazepam or valproic acid?

In an open, prospective, randomized, and hospital-based study, comprising 219 consecutive children, 169 were given intermittent prophylaxis for one year, receiving either diazepam or valproic acid after their first febrile convulsion. Children admitted on odd dates (n = 89) were given rectal diazepam in solution every 12 h, whenever the temperature was 38.5 degrees C or more.

Perinatal risk factors and first-year vocalizations: influence on preschool language and motor performance.

Spontaneous vocalizations of nine children with neonatal risk factors were systematically tape-recorded during the first year of life, as were those of 20 randomly chosen children without such risk factors. All the children were also given a battery of tests measuring language, speech, intelligence and motor function at six years. Cumulated tape-recordings for the periods six to 11 months and six to 14 months showed the infants with risk factors to have a significant reduction in various reduplicated syllables and consonants during the first year compared to those without risk factors.

Visual neglect in right-sided apoplectic lesions.

Fifty-five patients with right-sided apoplectic brain lesions prospectively and consecutively collected, were analyzed as to the frequency of visual neglect. The syndrome was present in 18 patients, 10 of whom had left hemi- or quadrantanopia. In addition, two patients had anopia with Anton's syndrome.

Denial and neglect of hemiparesis in right-sided apoplectic lesions.

In a prospective investigation of 55 consecutively selected patients with right-sided apoplectic lesions, denial and neglect of hemiparesis was registered in a standardized way using fixed criteria. The patients were all fully conscious and could cooperate in a detailed investigation. About half of the patients had denial and neglect of hemiparesis (1/4 denial, 1/5 neglect).

Syphilitic normal pressure hydrocephalus.

We report a case of presenile dementia with radiological and cisternographical features suggesting normal pressure hydrocephalus, caused by syphilitic infection. Treatment with penicillin resulted in considerable regression of the neurological and psychological signs.

Dopaminergic agonist Ro 8-4650 in Parkinson's disease. II. Patients not treated with dopa.

An isoquinolone derivative Ro 8-4650 (rac-4-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-7-methoxy-2-methylisoquinoline hydrochloride) with dopaminergic properties was studied in a randomized crossover trial. The group studied comprised 37 patients with idiopathic parkinsonism, not previously treated with levodopa or dopamin agonists. The trial drug was significantly more effectve than placebo, but the clinical improvement, according to the Webster rating scale, was small.