Prevalence, knowledge, attitude, and practice of epilepsy in Kerala, South India.

Purpose: To ascertain the prevalence and pattern of epilepsy and to characterize and quantify knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) toward epilepsy among the people of the state of Kerala, which is distinguished from the rest of India by a high level of literacy and health awareness of its population.

Methods: We conducted a door-to-door survey covering the entire population of 238,102 people residing in 43,681 households in a semiurban area of central Kerala. The screening questionnaire administered by medical social workers had a sensitivity of 100% for identifying persons with epilepsy.

Fulminant cerebral infarction in a patient with nephrotic syndrome.

Fulminant cerebral infarction secondary to arterial thrombosis in adults with nephrotic syndrome is rare. We report a 42 year old male with fulminant right anterior cerebral and middle cerebral artery infarction. Minimal change disease of the kidney was documented by renal biopsy.

Myasthenia gravis, motor neuron syndrome and thymoma.

An adult male with thymomatous myasthenia gravis (MG) and a motor neuron syndrome simulating amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is reported. After thymectomy and corticosteroid therapy, the MG remitted. During 4 years of follow-up, the lower motor neuronsigns in the upper limbs and upper motor neuron signs in the lower limbs remained unchanged.

Dermatomal somato sensory evoked potentials in cervical spondylosis.

Dermatomal somatosensory evoked potentials (DSSEP) from C5-T1 dermatomes were recorded in 20 normal healthy adult volunteers as controls and 61 patients with neck pain. The patients were divided into three groups. Group I : symptomatic patients withclinical signs of C5-T1 radiculopathy and radiological evidence of cervical spondylosis (21 patients).