Follow-up of 146 children with epilepsy after withdrawal of antiepileptic therapy.

The relapse rate after discontinuation of antiepileptic drug treatment was investigated in 146 children with epilepsy, in whom medication was withdrawn according to a predesigned protocol, after a seizure-free period of at least 2 years and normalization of the EEG. The cumulative probability of remaining seizure-free in this series was 74.5%. Three-quarters of the relapses occurred during the withdrawal period and in the 2 years thereafter. From multivariate analysis, the factors indicating a significantly higher relapse risk were seizures with a known cause and female sex. In primary generalized epilepsy, no factor significantly increased the likelihood of a recurrence. In partial epilepsy, significant factors predictive of recurrence were the presence of a neurological deficit (focal neurological signs and/or mental retardation), female sex, a positive family history for epilepsy, and the number of drugs necessary for control of the seizures. The present results are compared with the available literature data. It is argued that using multivariate analysis after elimination of EEG variables uncovers significant clinical predictive factors that in other studies may have remained hidden. Finally, it is argued that statistical analysis may be used to enable the clinician to predict the likelihood of recurrence in individual children with a given set of relevant predictive factors.

Concomitant cytomegalovirus infection and congenital toxoplasmosis in a newborn.

We report what we believe to be the first case of simultaneous infection by Toxoplasma gondii and cytomegalovirus in a newborn.

Visual discrimination after early and late unilateral enucleation of the rabbit.

Brightness and tilt discrimination were studied in rabbits in which one eye had been enucleated either 1 day or 3 months after birth. When tested at the age of 5 months no differences in performance were found between both groups of animals.

The effect of a unilateral ablation of the occipital lobe on pattern discrimination in the rabbit.

Binocular brightness and striated pattern discrimination were studied in Dutch-belted rabbits. A comparison was made between normal animals and animals in which a unilateral lesion of the occipital lobe had been made three months after birth. No difference between the two groups was found in brightness discrimination learning. However, normal animals were found to do better both in acquisition and accuracy of striated pattern discrimination.

Pattern discrimination in rabbits kept in environments of different complexities after unilateral removal of the occipital cortex.

Pattern discrimination was studied in rabbits in which a unilateral ablation of the occipital lobe had been made either at adult age or a few days after birth. It was found that a postoperative stay in an enriched environment did not improve striated pattern discrimination with the eye contralateral to the lesion.

The postnatal development of swimming behavior in the rabbit.

Adult rabbits make flexion and extension movements with fore- and hindlimbs while swimming. This type of behavior develops between 8 and 15 days after birth. It is concluded that by observing swimming movements the maturation of subcortical structures related to locomotion can be studied in unrestrained rabbits.