Serial EEG findings in 27 cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

Serial EEG examination was performed in a series of 27 cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease observed in Chile in the period 1960 to 1977. The pattern of EEG disturbances is described in the different stages of the disease and compared with those previously reported. In the fully developed stage of the disease, 94% of the EEGs (25 of 27 patients) showed a characteristic periodic aspect. The progressive disappearance of the superficial periodic activity is tentatively explained in one patient submitted to stereo EEG.

Randomized trial of a program to enhance the competencies of children with epilepsy.

A randomized, controlled trial was conducted in Santiago, Chile to test the impact of a child-centered, family-focused educational program for children aged 7-14 years with epilepsy and for their parents. The objectives of the program developed and pilot-tested in Los Angeles, California were to increase the children's knowledge, perceptions of competency, and skills related to dealing with seizures. Children in the experimental group (n = 123) and their parents separately attended four 1 1/2-h sessions and then met together at the end of each session to share learning experiences. Control children (n = 113) and their parents attended three 2-h sessions with a traditional lecture followed by question-and-answer format. All participants were pretested and then retested 5 months after completion of the educational intervention. Although there was some knowledge increase among children in the control group, the knowledge of children in the experimental group was significantly enhanced in a variety of areas related to management of their seizures and unnecessary restriction of their social and play activities. There was a significant increase in the self-perceptions of social competency of children in the experimental group. Children in the experimental group without serious behavioral problems also reported significantly better behavior after the intervention than did control children. There was no impact on children's disclosure of their diagnosis to friends and others.

Impact of the Children's Epilepsy Program on parents.

A randomized controlled trial was conducted in Santiago, Chile to test the efficacy of the Children's Epilepsy Program, a child-centered, family-focused intervention developed and pilot tested in Los Angeles, CA, U.S.A., using a counseling model for parents of children with seizure disorders to help them (a) deal with their anger, resentment, and grief related to the loss of a normal child; (b) increase their knowledge about caring for their child; (c) reduce anxieties related to having a child with a seizure disorder; and (d) improve their decision-making skills. All parents were pretested and then retested 5 months after the educational interventions. Parents in the experimental group (n = 185) and their children separately attended four 1 1/2-h sessions and then met together at the end of each session to share learning experiences. Comparison group parents (n = 180) and their children jointly attended three 2-h lecture sessions followed by question-and-answer periods. Although parents' overall knowledge of epilepsy was relatively high initially, it improved considerably in both comparison and experimental groups. With regard to anxiety, at the 5-month evaluation, experimental group parents and mothers in particular were more likely than control parents to state that they were less anxious (p less than 0.001), and their anxiety, as measured by the Taylor Manifest Anxiety scale, was significantly reduced (p less than 0.01).

Occlusive arterial disease of the child and young adult. Clinical electroencephalographical analysis of 26 cases.

26 patients suffering from acute arterial disease, predominant in childhood and young adults, have been studied. Convulsive symptom and electroencephalographic (EEG) findings are especially analyzed. The series are grouped following the Hilal classification, based on angiographical aspects. The incidence and etiological facts as well as the clinical and the angiographical findings, are summarized. The EEG analysis shows the high incidence of localized or lateralized abnormalities (23 out of 26), closely related with the clinical signs. However, there is no close relationship between these findings and the conscious state of the stage of the disease. An attempt is made to correlate the added diffuse and/or paroxysmal activities with the brain damage suspected by the angiographical signs. Seizures are present in 10 cases, 9 of them as initial symptoms predominantly of the focal type. There seems to be no relationship between the incidence and type of fits and the angiographical findings. Follow-up study shows that seizures do not modify the immediate course of the disease nor the persistence of this sequela in 9 of the controlled patients. The histopathological findings of cerebral vessel involvement are reported.

Electroencephalographical-anatomical correlation of brain tumours in infancy and childhood.

EEG correlated with anatomical aspects of 198 brain tumours in children gave the following results in hemispheric neoplasms: a rather precise location in 40% of the cases; lateralized in 42%; 14% showed only generalized anomalies and 4% were normal tracings. The findings depended on location and ICP condition, but not on neurological signs nor on histological nature. Basal-midline location (88 tumors) displayed 82.4% abnormal EEGs; 50% pointed to the more invaded hemisphere, mainly from the upper brain stem, ventricles and basal ganglia regions. Hypophyseal tumours gave 50% abnormalities with proved compression of the third ventricle, hypothalamus and cerebral peduncles. In posterior fossa tumours (60 cases), abnormalities are frequent (86.7%), but the localizing value of EEG is uncertain due to bisynchronous bursts mainly in the occipital region; 15% were lateralized with correlating asymmetrical location and/or growth of tumours. Differences compared to adult tumours are mentioned as specially influenced by maturational processes of the brain.

Prevalence of epilepsy in children of Melipilla, Chile.

The prevalence of epilepsy among children born in 1966 and reaching the age of 9 years during 1975 was investigated in Melipilla, Chile, using questions similar to those used by Rose et al. (1973). Of 2,104 potential respondents, 2,085 were interviewed. A sample of 593 children received neurological examination and 455 received an electroencephalogram. The prevalence rates for epilepsy were higher than those reported in two American studies using the same methodology. The possibility of socioeconomic factors to account for these differences was considered. Prevalence rates for simple febrile convulsions and minimal brain dysfunction were similarly calculated.