Different factors have been related with interictal anxiety, reported in 10%-25% of patients with epilepsy. We determined the frequency of interictal anxiety in 196 patients with active epilepsy in a cross-sectional survey to know which symptoms of anxiety were most frequently reported in patients with epilepsy and to analyze the factors associated with their presence. Patients were assessed with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), MontgomeryAsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), and the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA). Data were analyzed with a logistic regression model. The HAMA ratings revealed that 38.8% experienced signifi cant anxiety symptoms, as defi ned by a rating above 18 points. Use of primidone, depression, cryptogenic, and posttraumatic etiologies signifi cantly predicted anxiety after logistic regression. Symptoms related to higher scores on HAMA were anxious mood, tension, insomnia, intellectual function, depressed mood, cardiovascular and genitourinary symptoms. Further studies should be performed to defi ne the role of psychosocial factors in the development and evolution of anxiety among these patients.
In 1996, we described a schedule of single-day therapy with praziquantel for management of neurocysticercosis. This treatment resulted in 90% less total dose and costs and 93% less duration of treatment in comparison with the 2-week regimen, achieving similar clinical efficacy. 1 It also showed similar results compared with albendazole. 2 Recent reports in healthy volunteers have suggested that plasma levels of praziquantel increase with the administration of cimetidine 3 and also with a high-carbohydrate diet, 4 apparently due to inhibition of cytochrome p450. To investigate the potential clinical advantage of this effect, we compared the praziquantel single-day regimen administered either alone or in combination with cimetidine, and administered simultaneously with a high-carbohydrate diet.Methods. We studied 18 patients diagnosed with cysticercosis in brain parenchyma or subarachnoid space at the convexity. Age range was 17 to 64 years (mean 29.2); the study included 10 men and eight women. No patients with parenchymal cysts surrounded by edema and intense enhancing in contrasted studies were selected. No pregnant women were included. A diagnosis of cysticercosis was confirmed by ELISA in CSF and imaging studies (CT or MRI or both). All had seizures as the principal symptom. The mean time between the beginning of symptoms and treatment was 8 weeks. Informed consent was obtained from each patient. Subjects were randomly separated into three groups of six pa-tients each. Group 1 received three oral doses of 25 mg/kg of praziquantel at 2-hour intervals (at 7, 9, and 11 AM) after an overnight fast. Group 2 received the same three oral doses plus 400 mg of cimetidine administered 1 hour before each praziquantel dose. Group 3 received a high-carbohydrate diet (650 calories) 30 minutes before the first dose of praziquantel. All patients received dexamethasone (8 mg intramuscular) 6 hours after the last dose of praziquantel followed by the same dosage for the next 2 days. All patients remained in the hospital during treatment. Clinical evaluations were made 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, and 24 weeks after treatment, all by the same neurologist (M.L.). Follow-up CT scanning was performed 4, 12, and 24 weeks after treatment, and MRI was performed 24 weeks after treatment. Efficacy of treatment was evaluated by the individual disappearance of cysts and by the percentage of disappearance of lesions in every patient. Imaging studies were independently reviewed by a neurologist (T.C.) and a neuroradiologist blinded to treatment group source; interobserver results were identical. Blood samples were taken immediately before the last dose of praziquantel and were assayed by highperformance liquid chromatography. 5 The Mann-Whitney test was used to assess differences in the median percentage of cysts and to assess plasma levels. The SPSS-9 analytical program was used.
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