Transient Obstructive Hydrocephalus in Patients with Intracerebral Hemorrhage: Report of Two Cases.

Obstructive hydrocephalus is a relatively common complication of intraventricular hemorrhage resulting in high morbidity and mortality. We report two cases of transient obstructive hydrocephalus caused by obstruction of mesencephalic duct in patients that presented with altered consciousness which resolved spontaneously in a few hours. In very rare cases, obstructive hydrocephalus due to intraventricular hemorrhage may be transient and does not need neurosurgical or invasive procedures for lowering raised intracranial pressure, which otherwise are currently preferred treatment options.

Acute oxcarbazepine-induced hepatotoxicity in a patient susceptible to developing drug-induced liver injury.

Oxcarbazepine (OXC) is generally accepted as a drug without risk of severe drug-induced hepatotoxicity, but according to recently reported pharmacovigilance data this statement has been challenged. However, in the literature there have been no reports of acute OXC-induced hepatotoxicity without systemic manifestations of Drug Rash with Eosinophilia and Systemic Symptoms (DRESS) syndrome. We present a female with seizures one month after delivery who had borderline elevated liver enzymes prior to the initiation of OXC treatment.

[Central sleep apnea (Ondine's curse syndrome) in medullary infarction].

Ondine's curse syndrome primarily refers to cases with congenital central alveolar hypoventilation, but the term can also be used for acquired cases and implies central sleep apnea that occurs as a manifestation or complication of focal lesion in the area of the dorsolateral segment of medulla oblongata. It occurs rarely, but can lead to fatal outcome. Based on our own case report, the aim of this article is to review its clinical symptoms, and appropriate diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.

[Non-pharmacological methods of stroke prevention].

Stroke is a major health problem and the leading cause of functional disability, so that effective primary prevention remains the best, easiest and most cost-effective approach to reduce serious consequences of stroke. It is well known that prevention includes pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods. However, it seems that non-pharmacological methods of stroke prevention are generally neglected and placed in an inferior position in relation to pharmacological prevention.

Age-related pattern of the antiepileptic drug utilization in active epilepsy: a population-based survey.

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between antiepileptic drug (AED) utilization and patient age in a population of patients treated by primary health care physicians. Data were collected by using questionnaires completed by family physicians and paediatricians working in primary health care. Only patients with active epilepsy confirmed previously by neurologists or neuropaediatricans were included.

Social and medical care of preschool children with epilepsy in Croatia: population-based survey.

Background: Early detection of mental retardation and other epilepsy-associated impairments is essential for successful medical and social care of children with epilepsy; the corresponding information for children in Croatia has not yet been known.

Aims Of The Study: To obtain the basic information of epilepsy-associated disability in preschool children, and fundamentals of their medical and social care.

Methods: Data about mental retardation and other associated impairments (motor, speech, seeing, hearing), antiepileptic drug therapy and diurnal residence were collected by means of questionnaires completed by physicians working in primary health care (PHPs).

[Seizures in the peracute stage of stroke: incidence and effect on inpatient mortality].

Introduction: According to literature data, the effect of seizures on inpatient mortality has not yet been not definitly determined and data on seizure incidence significantly vary with different methods used in various studies,

Aim: Our aim was to determine the effect of seizures in the peracute stage of stroke on inpatient mortality and to detect the possible association of seizure incidence and stroke subtype, age and sex.

Subjects And Methods: Medical documentation of patients hospitalized at the ward for cerebrovascular diseases, Department of Neurology, Sveti Duh General Hospital from 1998 to 2005 was retrospectively analyzed. There were 3,542 patients with hemorrhagic or ischemic stroke.

Prevalence of epilepsy in Croatia: a population-based survey.

Objectives: To investigate the prevalence of active epilepsy in Croatia.

Material And Methods: Patient data collected by means of questionnaires completed by primary healthcare physicians; epilepsy was previously confirmed in the patients by neurologists or neuropaediatricans.

Results: One hundred and twenty-seven of 180 (71%) physicians provided the requested information.

[Guidelines for management of epilepsy--commentary on Scottish ("SIGN") guidelines].

The choice of AED (antiepileptic drug), worldwide and in Croatia, is been still based on the physician's subjective decision, personal experience, knowledge and marketing pressure made by big pharmaceutical industries. Therefore, according to some opinions, there is a need of treatment guidelines for epilepsy that would provide relevant information based on scientific evidence on the efficacy, tolerability and safety of AEDs. The guidelines, published by a competent source, should be designed as to allow for easy access to the information on the best practice in specific cases.

[Pathophysiologic basis of the treatment of neurogenic pain].

According to the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) neuropathic pain is "pain initiated or caused by a primary lesion or dysfunction or transitory perturbation in the peripheral or central nervous system". Neuropathic pain is usually classified according to the etiology, location of the lesion, and pain characteristics--individual symptoms and signs, but also according to the possible mechanisms involved. Identifying the underlying pain mechanisms during the diagnosis becomes essential for treatment strategies.

Increase of classical antiepileptic drug utilization in Croatia during the process of introducing the new generation of drugs.

During the last decade the process of introducing the new generation of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) has substantially changed the ways of treating epilepsy. Although a great deal of information about the role of new drugs has been accumulated, much less attention was paid to the impact of the new generation of AEDs on the utilization of classical AEDs. In order to detect the relation between the new and classical AEDs, the data about drug consumption in Croatia in the period 2000-2002 were analyzed.