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Since both differential rearing and gender have been known to affect maze abilities, the present study examines the performance of male and female hooded rats raised from weaning in either a complex environment (EC) or isolated environment (IC) on the 17-arm radial maze. In two separate replications, EC rats learned the maze more quickly and accurately than IC rats, as assessed by total errors, the number of correct choices to the first error, and the number correct in the first 17 choices. However, EC rats were more likely than IC rats to employ an adjacent-arm strategy which may have contributed to their superior performance. There were no gender differences or environment by gender interaction effects on any measure of accuracy or adjacent arm strategy in either replication. It appears that the performance of both male and female rats on the 17-arm radial maze is similarly influenced by the rearing environment.

The evidence base for the efficacy of the ketogenic diet was assessed among pediatric epileptic patients by application of a rigorous statistical meta-analysis. Nineteen studies from 392 abstracts met the inclusion criteria. The sample size was 1084 patients (mean age at initiation 5.78 ± 3.43 years). The pooled odds ratio, using a random effects model, of treatment success (> 50% seizure reduction) among patients staying on the diet relative to those discontinuing the diet was 2.25 (95% confidence interval = 1.69—2.98). The reasons for diet discontinuation included < 50% seizure reduction (47.0%), diet restrictiveness (16.4%), and incurrent illness or diet side effects (13.2%). The results indicate that children with generalized seizures and patients who respond with > 50% seizure reduction within 3 months tend to remain on the diet longer. Although no class I or II studies have been published regarding the efficacy of the ketogenic diet, this meta-analysis shows that current observational studies reporting on the therapeutic effect of the ketogenic diet contain valuable statistical data. Future observational studies should aim for long-term follow-up, patient dropout analysis, and improved seizure type characterization. ( J Child Neurol 2006;21:193—198; DOI 10.2310/7010.2006.00044).

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