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Biomedical subjects

G Stores

Publications and source records attributed to G Stores.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Psychological effects of sodium valproate and carbamazepine in epilepsy.

Information from standardised tests of intelligence, school attainments, attention, memory and visuomotor function, together with parent and teacher questionnaire information about various aspects of behaviour, was obtained for 63 schoolchildren with newly diagnosed epilepsy before treatment with sodium valproate or carbamazepine, and again at intervals for a total period of 12 months. The same information was collected on 47 matched controls. The children with epilepsy represented those under non-specialised paediatric care. The result showed that both drugs were effective in most cases at modest dosage without causing notable psychological effects 12 months into treatment. Modest and temporary adverse cognitive effects seen earlier in treatment could have been the result of uncontrolled seizure discharge. Improved function was the same in children with epilepsy and controls. Some psychological abnormalities in the children with epilepsy were evident before treatment suggesting early unwanted effects of the epileptic process itself.

Carbamazepine↗
PubMed1992

Sleep problems.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Frontal lobe complex partial seizures in children: a form of epilepsy at particular risk of misdiagnosis.

The clinical and EEG findings are described of six children considered to have complex partial seizures of frontal lobe origin. The findings correspond generally with those reported for adult patients. Video-recordings of attacks in some cases and ictal cassette EEG recordings provided important diagnostic information. A definite frontal abnormality on neuro-imaging was seen in only one case. The seizures were closely associated with sleep, and anti-epileptic drug treatment was usually of limited value. The considerable diagnostic confusion surrounding seizures of this type, including their misdiagnosis as pseudoseizures or primary sleep disorder, is partly the result of the clinical peculiarities of this type of seizure, but also of clinicians' limited awareness of the condition.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Electroencephalographic parameters in assessing the cognitive function of children with epilepsy.

Many biological and psychological possibilities have to be considered when attempting to explain cognitive dysfunction in the individual child with epilepsy. Electroencephalographic (EEG) information, which may be particularly relevant in some children, has mainly been studied in relation to the possible direct effects of seizure discharges on learning and behavior. Such discharges can be divided into transient, brief or prolonged. Prolonged seizure discharges includes nonconvulsive status epilepticus during wakefulness and status epilepticus during slow-wave sleep. In addition to the influence of seizure discharges, preliminary findings suggest that some children with epilepsy might have a subtle disorder of arousal mechanisms in sleep, possibly associated with impaired daytime performance.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Five patients with Rasmussen's syndrome investigated by single-photon-emission computed tomography.

Five patients with Rasmussen's syndrome (sometimes known as smouldering encephalitis), are presented. This rare form of childhood epilepsy is characterized by intractable partial seizures with progressive neurological and mental impairment. Diagnostic brain biopsy shows the histological changes of active encephalitis, consistent with a viral infection. Although the raised cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) complement and interferon levels seen in some patients support this hypothesis, no infective agent has yet been isolated. All five patients were investigated by transmission computed tomography (CT) of the head, electroencephalography (EEG) and cerebral single-photon-emission computed tomography (SPECT) using 99Tcm-hexamethylpropylenamine oxime (HMPAO) and in addition 123I-amphetamine (IMP) in Patient 1. 99Tcm-HMPAO is now regarded as reflecting cerebral perfusion, whereas the uptake of 123I-amphetamine is more dependent on cell function. In all patients SPECT imaging demonstrated an area of hypoperfusion/hypometabolism which corresponded to the anatomical localization of the epiletogenic foci found by clinical assessment, EEG and CT. In all cases the SPECT study also demonstrated a more extensive area of abnormality than CT, and in the two patients who had sequential studies, alteration in the size of the defect was found which correlated with the patients' changing clinical condition. SPECT imaging in Rasmussen's syndrome may facilitate anatomical localization of the area of pathology, and may demonstrate a changing pattern in cerebral hypoperfusion/hypometabolism. It could also serve as a guide to accurate brain biopsy.

Amphetamines↗
PubMed1978

Dependency of different types in schoolchildren with epilepsy.

By means of the Self-Administered Dependency Questionnaire (SADQ), 4 types of dependency on mother were measured in 65 children with epilepsy attending ordinary school, sub-grouped according to sex, level of schooling, electrographic type of epilepsy, and drug treatment. The various dependency scores of each subgroup were compared with the appropriate norms available for the SADQ. Compared with normal boys, epileptic boys of primary school age (N = 16) were generally found to be more in need of close physical emotional contact with their mother and her physical proximity when away from home, although they were less ready to talk to her about their practical problems and ask for her help. The needs of epileptic boys of secondary-school age (N = 18) were expressed more in terms of their mother's help with practical matters at home. In contrast, no significant differences were apparent between epileptic and normal girls at either level of schooling. In comparisons between epileptic children who consistently produced only generalized seizure activity in their EEG (N = 31), a right temporal spike discharge (N = 16) or a similar discharge on the left (N = 18), both boys and girls with a left temporal spike discharge tended to show significantly higher need for close physical emotional contact with their mother than children in the other electrographic groups. No clear relationship was seen between dependency scores and type of anti-epileptic drug treatment.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1978

Inattentiveness in schoolchildren with epilepsy.

Different aspects of "inattentiveness" or related behavior were assessed in 71 children with epilepsy and in 35 nonepileptic children attending ordinary school. Both groups were of similar age and eduational circumstances. Epileptic boys were significantly more inattentive and overactive than nonepileptic boys according to their teachers and parents, and they performed significantly less well on tests of sustained attention and perceptual accuracy. No such differences were seen between epileptic and nonepileptic girls. This contrast between the epileptic groups was not attributable to drug effects or EEG abnormalities. Auditory stimulation reduced the perceptual accuracy of nonepileptic children but appeared to have a beneficial effect on epileptic groups. Teachers' ratings of inattentiveness were not consistently correlated with other measures. These findings conform with other evidence which suggests that epileptic boys are behaviorally more vulnerable than epileptic girls but not simply as a reflection of sex related differences in children in general. The results also suggest that teachers' statements about "inattentiveness" are difficult to interpret and that problem behavior at school needs to be specified precisely.

Attention↗
PubMed1975

Behavioural effects of anti-epileptic drugs.

There is increasing evidence that various types of behavioural disturbance, other than those described for phenytoin, for example, may occur from the use of anti-epileptic medication, and it has been suggested that these disturbances may not always be reversible. There are suspicions also that certain groups of patients--especially those with structural brain damage--are particularly susceptible. These and other factors relevant to the study of the effects of anti-epileptic drugs on behaviour are comprehensively reviewed. It is concluded that the psycho-pharmacology of anti-epileptic drugs is unsatisfactory at present because of inadequate and unsophisticated reporting of behavioural change and because of the common problem of polypharmacy, and that more accurate observations are needed on less heterogeneous groups of patients that have been described in the past.

Anti-Anxiety Agents↗