[Epilepsy and the functional organization of the autonomic nervous system].

Results of the studies on the state of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) in symptomatic temporal epilepsy (TE) and frontal epilepsy (FE) are presented. It was investigated the functional state of catecholamine system, autonomic background, reaction and ANS supply in response to the physical and psycho-emotional tests according to the clinical data, psychological testing and evaluation of the skin sympathetic response (SSR) as well as EEG parameters (paroxysmal index, slow activity in the background and in response to hyperventilation). The control group included healthy subjects. Comparison groups consisted of patients with panic attacks or with the combination of epilepsy and panic attacks. The disturbance of the self-regulation of catecholamine system and its exhaustion in TE were identified. The authors suggested the concept of the denervation hypersensitivity. According to the SSR, a start of the response to external stimuli always begins from the parasympathetic reaction both in healthy people and in all groups of patients studied. It means that the stable adaptive mechanism in the form of anticipating reaction from the side of the mechanisms stabilizing homeostasis had been formed during the phylogenies. Different patterns of the disturbance of ANS functional state in TE and FE were established. The data obtained indicate that the neocortical motor cortex has a direct relation to the suprasegmental formations which realize the ergotrophic supply of the motor activity.

Development and evaluation of a health education intervention against Taenia solium in a rural community in Mexico.

A comprehensive study was undertaken in a rural community in the state of Morelos, Mexico to evaluate health education as an intervention measure against Taenia solium. An educational program was developed to promote recognition and knowledge of the transmission of the parasite and to improve hygienic behavior and sanitary conditions that foster transmission. The effects of educational intervention were evaluated by measuring changes in knowledge and practices and prevalence of human taeniasis and swine cysticercosis before and after the campaign. The health education strategy was implemented with the active participation of the population based on the information obtained from a sociologic study. A questionnaire was designed and used before, immediately after the intervention, and six months later. Statistically significant improvements occurred in knowledge of the parasite, its life cycle, and how it is acquired by humans; however, changes in behavior related to transmission were less dramatic and persistent. The prevalences of cysticercosis in pigs at the start of the education intervention were 2.6% and 5.2% by lingual examination and antibody detection (immunoblot assay), respectively, and approximately one year after the intervention they were 0% and 1.2% (P < 0.05). These changes were accompanied by significant reductions in the reported access of pigs to sources of infection and freedom to roam. We conclude that health education, developed along with community involvement, reduced opportunities for transmission of T. solium in the human-pig cycle.

PIP: Neurocysticercosis is an important health problem in Mexico, as well as in many other countries of Latin America, Asia, and Africa where conditions permit completion of the cestode's life cycle in pigs and humans. A study was conducted in a rural community in the state of Morelos, Mexico, to determine whether health education could be an effective measure against Taenia solium. An educational program was developed with community input to promote recognition and knowledge of the transmission of the parasite and to improve hygienic behavior and sanitary conditions which foster transmission. The effects of the educational intervention were then assessed by measuring changes in knowledge, practices, and the prevalence of human taeniasis and swine cysticercosis before and after the campaign. Statistically significant improvements occurred with regard to knowledge of the parasite, its life cycle, and how it is acquired by humans. However, changes in behavior related to transmission were less marked and persistent. Lingual examination and antibody detection found cysticercosis among 2.6% and 5.2% of pigs, respectively, at the start of the intervention. At approximately 1 year after the intervention, prevalences had declined to 0% and 1.2%. The decline was accompanied by significant reductions in the reported access of pigs to sources of infection and freedom to roam.

[Community participation: need, excuse, or strategy? What are we talking about when we refer to community participation?]. / Participación comunitaria: necesidad, excusa o estrategia? O de qué hablamos cuando hablamos de participación comunitaria.

This paper evaluates the strategy of including community participation in health care and health promotion programs, taking into account three dimensions: the pertinence of the practice, the characteristics of its implementation, and the results generated by it. After doing a critical review of the bibliography on the issue, we came to the conclusion that many heterogeneous programs are grouped under the term "community participation". This requires a specification of what king of community participation is being talked about. As a consequence, the study proposes a classification of the different practices grouped under this heading. The following criteria were used in the classification: 1) theoretical and ideological conceptions underlying the practice of community participation; 2) aspects to be implemented and subjects to be influenced by intervention; and 3) forms that community participation takes in practice. The study also analyzes the articulation between these three aspects. Finally, the role of social research and qualitative methodology in the implementation of community participation for health care programs is considered. The study also considers challenges that overall proposals must face in order for strategies to develop successfully, beyond their differences in conception and implementation.

[Autonomic dysfunction in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy]. / Vegetativnaia disfunktsiia u bol'nykh visochnoi épilepsiei.

In 102 patients with temporal epilepsy autonomic (tone, responses, effectiveness) and sympathoadrenal (urine excretion of catecholamines and its changes under effects of epinephrine, insulin and L-DOPA administration) systems were investigated. Some of the indices under study showed reliable correlations with clinical data. Pronounced alterations of autonomic functions were found. The data suggest an important role of catecholamines in the pathogenesis of temporal epilepsy.

[France: the 1982 census. Regional population developments]. / France: recensement 1982. Evolutions regionales de population

PIP: Regional variations in demographic trends in France, as revealed by the results of the 1982 census, are described. The study presented here is extracted from a larger study that focused on regional development and was undertaken by the Cellule d'Etudes et de Prospective (SESAME), which is a part of the Delegation Francaise a l'Amenagement du Territoire et a l'Action Regionale (DATAR). Zones of demographic decline and of demographic growth are identified, together with zones of stability and of change. The importance of internal migration is noted.^ieng

[Reactivity of the DOPA--dopamine--noradrenaline--adrenaline system in epileptics]. / Reaktivnost' sistemy DOFA--dofamin--noradrenalin--adrenalin u bol'nykh épilepsiei.

Epileptic patients were examined for the daily urine elimination of DOPA, dopamine (DA), noradrenaline (NA), and adrenaline (A). The changes in the excretion of these substances after L-DOPA intake and the adrenaline and insulin test were also investigated. In addition to the evidence about the preserved reactivity of the DOPA-DA-NA-A system to L-DOPA intake, data were obtained pointing to its strain and a reduction in the reserve potentialities. The use of the adrenaline test disclosed the absence of, or a negative response on the part of DA and A in half of the patients, which correlated with definite clinical parameters. In one third of the patients, the insulin test was not accompanied by any increase in the excretion of A or its precursors. The findings obtained are indicative of the insufficiency of homeostatic reactions in epileptics and, possibly, of the deficit of the repolarizing mechanisms.

[Petit mal status epilepticus with unusual clinical manifestations]. / Epilepticheskii status malogo pripadka s neobychnymi klinicheskimi proiavleniiami.

A unique observation of an epileptic female examined in detail in a neurological clinic is presented. The patient was later hospitalized 3 times for disturbances of consciousness and extrapyramid disorders characterized by acute onset. An encephalographic examination carried out during such a state showed an epileptic status of atypic absence. The development of the Parkinsonian syndrome is regarded as a proof of the role of the caudate nucleus in the genesis of the petit mal epileptic status.