Sheldon M. Wolf

Epilepsy and Mental Retardation Following Febrile Seizures In Childhood

ABSTRACT. In an unselected group of children who were seen following an initial febrile convulsion, the frequency of subsequent afebrile seizures was 3.5% and of mental retardation 1%. The most common afebrile seizure type was generalized major (86%). About 3/4 of the children who developed afebrile seizures did so by three years and all by five years following the initial febrile seizure. The children with afebrile seizures differed from those without afebrile seizures in the frequency of neonatal abnormality, family history of mental retardation, focal initial febrile convulsions, and delay in psychomotor milestones before the initial febrile seizure. Only about 1/3 of the children who developed afebrile seizures ever had a recurrent febrile convulsion and none had complex recurrent febrile seizures. Half the children with mental retardation had histories of delay in psychomotor milestones prior to the initial febrile seizure, and no child with mental retardation had any seizure longer than five minutes. The administration of daily phenobarbital did not reduce the frequency of epilepsy, in spite of a significant reduction in the incidence of recurrent febrile seizures. There remains no evidence that the prevention of recurrent febrile convulsions significantly decreases the frequency of afebrile seizures or mental retardation.

Treatment of Bell palsy with prednisone: a prospective, randomized study.

Two hundred thirty-nine patients with Bell palsy were randomly distributed into prednisone-treated and control groups. Patients were followed until complete recovery or for 1 year. In the steroid-treated and control groups, respectively, incomplete recovery of facial strength occurred in 12 percent and 20 percent; motor synkinesis in 9 percent and 15 percent; autonomic synkinesis in 1 percent and 10 percent; and electromyographic evidence of severe denervation in 9 percent and 17 percent. The differences reached statistical significance only for autonomic synkinesis. In the total series recovery of facial strength was incomplete in 16 percent. Residual weakness was mild in 14 percent and moderate in 2 percent. No patient remained with severe weakness. Age, hyperacusis, and severity of the initial palsy were associated with an increased risk of poor outcome.

Cat-scratch encephalopathy

We present a case of cat-scratch disease in a 9-year-old girl, complicated by encephalopathy and seizures. Bartonella (formerly Rochalimaea) henselae is the causative agent in cat-scratch disease; methods now available for detection of this pleomorphic, gram-negative bacterium, including polymerase chain reaction amplification and indirect fluorescence antibody testing, may lead to changes in standard criteria used to verify a diagnosis of cat-scratch disease.

SHAKESPEARE AND SLEEP DISORDERS

Shakespeare was a consummate dramatist and profound observer of human behavior. He vividly described many clinical disorders, including those of sleep. His characters suffered from somnambulism, sleep apnea, insomnia, and nightmares. Sleep, to Shakespeare, was a blessing denied to many of his protagonists.

Sidney Carter, MD (1912–2005)

The tribute to Dr. Sidney Carter by Drs. Pedley, DeVivo, and Rowland1 described Dr. Carters career, documented his key role as a founder of Child Neurology, and listed the eminent and influential pediatric neurologists he trained. I was fortunate …

Long-term effect of phenobarbital on cognitive function in children with febrile convulsions

Psychometric tests were performed on 50 children with a history of febrile convulsions. Twenty-five of these had received daily phenobarbital for a mean of 35 months; 25 had received no phenobarbital. The two groups were matched for sex, age at the time of testing, race, and socioeconomic status. The tests used were the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI), the Matching Familiar Figures Test, and the Childrens Embedded Figures Test. There were no significant differences in test results between the two groups.