The epilepsy specialist nurse: A mixed-methods case study on the role and activities.

Purpose: To describe the role and activities of epilepsy specialist nurses (ESNs) operating as a team in the setting of a hospital specialising in the diagnosis and management of seizure disorders.

Methods: We conducted a descriptive mixed-methods embedded single case study. We recruited 9 ESNs, 14 of their professional colleagues and 9 'key informants' to analyse their perceptions of the role and activities of ESNs.

[Dietary treatment of medically refractory epilepsy in children and adolescents].

Ketogenic diet (KD) is used worldwide in the treatment of medically refractory epilepsy. Since the introduction of KD in the early 1900s, new approaches such as medium-chain triglyceride ketogenic diet, modified Atkins diet and low glycaemic index treatment have been suggested as alternative treatments. Several studies have documented significant seizure reduction from all four diets.

[Glucose transporter-1 deficiency syndrome can cause various clinical symptoms].

Glucose transporter-1 deficiency syndrome (GLUT1-DS) is caused by a decreased function of the glucose transporter GLUT1 protein, which is located in the blood brain barrier. This leads to inadequate glucose levels for brain metabolism and can cause various clinical symptoms including medically intractable epilepsy, developmental delay and complex movement disorders. Ketonic diet is the golden standard for treatment of GLUT1-DS.

Matching training tasks to abilities of people with mental retardation: a learning test versus experienced staff.

Three sets of predictions were compared concerning the ability of 18 persons with severe or moderate mental retardation to learn 12 training tasks. Predictions were made by (a) experienced teachers who had worked with the clients for a minimum of 8 months and (b) experienced teachers who did not know the clients personally but who interacted with them for 30 minutes and by (c) consideration of client performance on the Assessment of Basic Learning Abilities test. To teach each task to a pass or fail criterion, we applied standard training procedures.