The primary prevention of epilepsy: A report of the Prevention Task Force of the International League Against Epilepsy.

Among the causes of epilepsy are several that are currently preventable. In this review, we summarize the public health burden of epilepsy arising from such causes and suggest priorities for primary epilepsy prevention. We conducted a systematic review of published epidemiologic studies of epilepsy of 4 preventable etiologic categories-perinatal insults, traumatic brain injury (TBI), central nervous system (CNS) infection, and stroke.

Pediatric mortality in Africa: plasmodium falciparum malaria as a cause or risk?

The disability adjusted life year (DALY) approach of defining cause-specific health burdens is becoming the benchmark for international disease control prioritization. For malaria, this categorical approach may not fully capture its burden that includes chronic anemia, low birth weight, and enhancement of the severity of other childhood diseases. We investigated the extent to which malaria acts as a risk factor for all-cause mortality in African children less than five years of age from 1) ecologic associations between Plasmodium falciparum infection prevalence (PR) and under-five mortality, and 2) reductions in all-cause under-five mortality achieved in malaria intervention trials.