Intractable epilepsy in children who develop epilepsy in the first decade of life--a prospective study.

Prospective studies on 347 children under treatment due to seizures which appeared in the first 10 years of life helped to evaluate and define the incidence of epilepsy resistant to treatment. With regard to each patient the following aspects were analysed: the kind of seizures, their etiology, accompanying neurological disorders and a type of epileptic syndrome, kind of treatment applied before admission to the clinical department as well as socioeconomic conditions of the families. Patients under study were divided into four age groups to evaluate the results.

Children who develop epilepsy in the first year of life: a prospective study.

A long-term prospective study was carried out of 133 children diagnosed as having epilepsy in the first year of life, of whom two-thirds had West syndrome and one-third had other forms of epilepsy. They were followed for a minimum of three years (half for over seven years), during which time 15 children died. Of the 118 surviving, 54 had an IQ of > 70, but 53 were severely mentally impaired, of whom two-thirds had West syndrome.

[Evaluation of reading and writing abilities and adaptation to school situations during the primary education period of children with early neonatal pathology].

The study undertaken for assessment of the frequency of education difficulties and adaptation to school situation in elementary school is a continuation of previous studies on the frequency of neurological disturbances and psychomotor retardation in children with neurological abnormalities observed during the first days of life. In children with these early neurological abnormalities (n = 82) more frequent presence of educational difficulties and disturbances in adaptation to the situation in school were noted, in relation to controls (n = 84).

[Diurnal fluctuations in plasma carbamazepine level in children with epilepsy].

After determination of carbamazepine level in plasma by means of gas chromatography 23 profiles of 24-hour concentrations were plotted in children aged from 20 months to 15 years treated for epilepsy. In 12 of them monotherapy was given (Amizepin-Polfa in a mean daily dose of 18.7 mg/kg) while polytherapy was given to 11 children (mean daily dose was 21.

[Carbamazepine dosage and its blood serum level in children].

Evaluating in 62 children aged from 4 months to 14 years (mean age 3 years 7 months) the correlation between the carbamazepine dosage (carbamazepine was given as the only drug in 21 cases, and as one of several drugs in 41) the authors failed to find a simple correlation. Nevertheless, most children receiving the "proper" doses had therapeutic plasma carbamazepine levels. Moreover, it was found that carbamazepine dose increase over 25 mg/kg daily caused on further rise of its plasma level.

[Prognostic value of various pathological symptoms in the neonatal period].

The authors analysed the prognostic significance of pathological signs observed in the neonatal life period evaluating the level of psychomotor development and the neurological status of 216 children aged 36 months in whom signs had been observed in the neonatal period suggestive of central nervous system injury. The studies demonstrated a statistically significant correlation between the level of psychomotor development and the neurological status of children at that age and the occurrence of pathological signs in the neonatal period. Thic correlation was particularly evident in children with low birth weight.

[Psychomotor development of children with pathology in the neonatal period].

The authors subjected to a multiprofile analysis the psychomotor development and clinical status of 213 children in the third year of life in whom signs had been observed during their neonatal period of life suggesting brain injury. The control group included 206 children matched for age without any history of neonatal pathology. The investigations demonstrated statistically significantly more frequent occurrence of psychomotor development retardation or abnormalities in the neurological status in children from the studied group as compared with control children.