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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↗
PubMed1987

Controlled trial of trimeprazine tartrate for night waking.

Mild hypnotics are often recommended for young children with sleep problems. This study assesses the efficacy of trimeprazine tartrate in 1 to 3 year old children with persistent and severe night waking in a double blind crossover trial with placebo. Children on treatment with trimeprazine had significantly fewer wakings, less time awake at night, and more night time sleep compared with those on treatment with placebo. There were no differences in these sleep variables when the first and last (fourth) week of treatment with drugs were compared. Follow up observations showed no significant difference in any sleep variables from baseline measures. The results are consistent with the idea that trimeprazine tartrate may be a useful short term treatment for night waking in young children.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1987

Ambulatory diagnostic monitoring of seizures in children.

Considerable scope still exists for more accurate recognition of childhood seizures and the definition of their precise type. Careful clinical observation is generally the most appropriate way of achieving these objectives. However, in a proportion of patients even detailed clinical evaluation will leave this issue unclear. Intensive neurodiagnostic monitoring carries the advantage over conventional EEG recordings in generally increasing the likelihood of recording during the child's attacks. Special consideration has to be given to children in carrying out intensive monitoring, largely because of their limited understanding of investigatory procedures and lessened ability to cooperate compared with adults, including adjustment to hospital admission. Equipment design must acknowledge the smaller size of children and the fact that they are generally more active than adult patients. In order to help interpretation of the EEG findings, great reliance has to be placed on the observation by parents and other observers in achieving adequate behavioral accounts. The comparative acceptance by children of the different recording procedures and their relative diagnostic yield are difficult to evaluate objectively. No systematic comparison has been made on the same group of children undergoing the various procedures. Consequently, comparisons have to be made on different patient groups investigated in different centers where it is likely there will be differences in selection criteria for investigation as well as the details of the procedure followed. Video/EEG, telemetry, and cassette recording are best seen as complementary procedures from which a choice is made depending on the child's problem and circumstances and, in particular, whether admission to hospital for video or telemetry is possible or likely to provide the opportunity for studying the clinical phenomena in question. All are capable of high levels of technical merit and a high degree of diagnostic yield when used with appropriate indications. However, especially for EEG services outside special centers and without extra staff resources, it is likely that cassette recording in its 8-channel form has distinct advantages, both in terms of acceptability to children and of operating costs.

Adolescent↗
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↗