Epilepsy & behavior : E&B
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Epilepsy & behavior : E&B · Jul 2012
ReviewSeizure diaries for clinical research and practice: limitations and future prospects.
An NINDS-sponsored conference in April of 2011 reviewed issues in epilepsy clinical trials. One goal was to clarify new electronic methods for recording seizure information and other data in clinical trials. ⋯ Recommendations from the conference included: further studies of validity of epilepsy diaries and how they can be used to improve adherence; use and further development of core data sets, such as the one recently developed by NINDS; encouraging links of diaries to electronic sensors; development of diary privacy and legal policies; examination of special pediatric diary issues; development of principles for observational research from diaries; and work with the FDA to make electronic diaries more useful in industry-sponsored clinical trials.
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Epilepsy & behavior : E&B · Jul 2012
Acceptance of epilepsy surgery among adults with epilepsy--what do patients think?
Physician inertia is usually blamed for the underutilization of epilepsy surgery (ES) at the cost of increased patient disability and risk of mortality. Investigations on selected groups of patients with intractable TLE and minorities suggested that patient beliefs may also limit access to ES. To assess acceptance of ES among "mainstream" patients, we distributed an ad hoc questionnaire to 228 adults attending epilepsy clinics and found widespread fears and misconceptions leading to unfavorable perception of ES, irrespective of diagnosis, seizure type, and degree of intractability. ⋯ Attitude changes correlated with patient's social profile. Neurologists are responsible for providing all pertinent information to potential surgical candidates as soon as indicated. Therefore, an untimely or inadequate intervention of the treating physician constitutes an additional barrier to optimal utilization of ES.