BackgroundA high prevalence of epilepsy in children is frequently found in developing countries.ObjectiveThis study aimed to determine the prevalence and clinical pattern of childhood and adolescence epilepsy in Upper Egypt.MethodsThis is a door-to-door study conducted on all inhabitants < 18 years in Al Kharga district and Al Qusier city (36,195 subjects). The study was conducted through two stages; every stage consisted of two phases (screening and diagnostic).ResultsLifetime prevalence of childhood and adolescence epilepsy (children < 18 years) in Upper Egypt was 9.7/1000, with higher prevalence among children < 12 years (10.8/1000) than adolescents (7.2/1000). The age-specific prevalence was highest in early childhood (12.01/1000) and least at adolescence (7.2/1000). More than half of the patients (59.4%) had idiopathic epilepsy. The most frequent etiology for structural/metabolic epilepsy was perinatal complications, particularly in infancy, followed by central nervous system (CNS) infections, in childhood, and post-traumatic epilepsy in adolescence. Partial seizures were more frequent in infancy, while generalized seizures were more frequent in late childhood and adolescence. Generalized tonic-clonic seizures (GTCS) were the most frequent type of seizures.ConclusionPrevalence of childhood and adolescence epilepsy in Upper Egypt was not so much different from other developing countries. Idiopathic epilepsy was more prevalent than structural/metabolic cases. Perinatal complications, CNS infections, and head injury were the most frequent etiologies, and generalized tonic-clonic seizures were the most frequent seizure type.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s41983-018-0032-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Abstract:Introduction: Epilepsy is a diverse set of chronic neurological disorders characterized by seizures. It is one of the most common of the serious neurological disorders. About 3% of people will be diagnosed with epilepsy at some time in their lives.

Objective: This study compared the effect of levetiracetam (LEV) as monotherapy to sodium valproate (VPA) as monotherapy on cognitive functions in patients with epilepsy. Methods: This was a comparative prospective study on 50 patients with newly diagnosed epilepsy started on antiseizure medications.

Summary:We sought to determine if there are differences in the incidence of seizure disorders between the children of the indigenous and immigrant (predominantly Pakistani) populations of Bradford, United Kingdom. Annual incidence rates per 100,000 for new onset seizures were calculated along with Townsend deprivation scores. The incidence of seizures (including febrile and single) was 153 (95%CI 104-139). The rate was significantly higher in south Asians (SA) (220; 184-255) compared to non-south Asians (non-SA) (121; 104-139), mainly because of febrile seizures whose incidence was 87 (136-169) overall and 142 (114-170) and 61 (49-74) in SA and non-SA, respectively. There were no significant differences in the rates of nonfebrile seizures (non-FebSz) overall and of idiopathic non-FebSz between racial groups but the rate for symptomatic/cryptogenic non-FebSz was significantly higher in SA (22; 10-34) compared to non-SA (6; 2-10). The occurrence of seizure disorders correlated with social deprivation.

Historical Background: Since the beginning of the 18 th century, Emotional Intelligence (EI) was a part of the general activity of the brain of human beings, until it became an independent subject in later years. The family is first place where

Objectives: To compare neurologists’ knowledge, practice, and barriers of pharmacovigilance (PV) process among patients with epilepsy in Poland and Egypt. Methods: It was an international study that used an online questionnaire e-mailed to neurologists registered to practice in Poland and Egypt. Results: Most of the neurologists were familiar with the definition of PV and adverse drug reactions (ADRs), but relatively few neurologists knew where to report ADRs, especially the Egyptian neurologists. Only 31.11% of the neurologists from Egypt and 39.90% neurologists from Poland declared that they had reported ADRs at least once during their professional practice, and few of them declared the regular reporting of such incidents. The main reason for the neurologists not reporting ADRs was the lack of time and a conviction that reporting ADRs would be an additional burden that would generate extra work. Conclusion: The standards of pharmacovigilance process, safety control, and quality are not the same throughout the world. System-regulated PV stabilization in a country translates into the practice of maintaining PV. Monitoring the safety of pharmacotherapy and knowledge of risks associated with ADRs should be included in the academic curricula of physician courses.

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Background: Stroke is the most common reason for disability and the third cause of mortality in the world per year. Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is known as an independent risk factor of coronary artery disease and stroke. Aim of the work: To investigate the relationship between metabolic syndrome and risk of ischemic stroke, whether stroke patients with metabolic syndrome differ from other ischemic stroke patients in demographic variables, stroke presentation, stroke severity, neuroimaging, and prognosis. Patients and methods: This is a hospital-based, prospective observational study. The study population constituted of patients with first-ever atherothrombotic ischemic stroke who were admitted to the neurology department within 6 months (between January 1 st , 2016 and July 1 st , 2016). Patients were subjected to full neurological examination, assessment of stroke severity using National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), screening for MetS components, brain imaging, transthoracic echocardiography, and carotid duplex. Results: MetS was of higher frequency in atherothrombotic stroke patients compared to previous studies, more in females and older age. MetS with diabetes mellitus (DM) patients had the worst clinical presentation and the worst in-hospital outcome. High high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) was the predictor for worse clinical presentation. Conclusion: The higher the number of MetS components, the higher the risk of ischemic stroke. High HDL-C was the predictor for worse clinical presentation. Thus, diagnosing and adequately managing MetS is an important step in preventing cerebrovascular disease.