We introduced the Side Effects and Life Satisfaction (SEALS) to Japan with permission. This battery was originally developed in the United Kingdom to investigate subjective adverse events which associated with antiepileptic pharmacotherapy. We investigated the reliability and validity of a Japanese version (SEALS-J) by means of a multi-institutional study. Three hundred and seventeen patients with epilepsy (153men and164women with mean age of37years) and one hundred normal controls (50 men and50women with mean age of35years) participated in this study. They were asked to complete the SEALS-J after providing informed consent. To assess the test -retest reliability, the SEALS-J was completed at two time assessments b119 patients at four week intervals.Reliability was estimated using Cronbach's alpha and test-retest method.The former value of totals scale score of case subjects and normal controls were0.89and0.94, respectively. Correlation coefficient of that score by test -retest method was 0.85. These results indicate that the SEALS-J has good construction reliability. Validity was evaluated by comparing SEALS-J scores with patients' multidimensional clinical characteristics. The test results of the SEALS-J were influenced by epilepsy and psychosocial variables with statistical significance.

View full abstract

In this study, 40temporal lobe epilepsy patients were assessed, using the Laterality Index (LI) of ROI values in IMP-SPECT findings, Wechsler adult intelligence Scale Revised (WAIS-R) and subtest scores. LIs of the frontal, temporal and occipital lobes were calculated as follows: the ROI values on the right side were subtracted from those on the left, and the results was divided by the sum of the ROI values on the right and left sides. The individual subtest scores on WAIS-R were standardized by all evaluation scores in order to exclude the influence of differences in intelligence level as much as possible. The results were as follows: there was a positive correlation (r=0.74, p<0.001) between LI values and the performance in Arithmetic in the left temporal lobe hypoperfusion group. And there was a positive correlation (r=0.50, p<0.02) between LI values and the performance in Vocabulary in the left temporal lobe hypoperfusion group. In the right occipital lobe hypoperfusion group, there was a negative correlation (r=-0.44, p<0.05) between LI values and the performance in Coding. It is suggested that decreased blood flow areas detected by SPECT might influence brain function.

View full abstract

We carried out the questionnaire study about the recognition of the name of illness among adolescent patients with epilepsy.
Subjects were 69 adolescent patients (33 boys, 36 girls) who were students of regular classes of junior high schools and high schools.Only 37 patients (53.6%) stated that they know the name of their illness, and only 9 of those 37 recognized their illness as“ Epilepsy”. Twenty five (67.6%) of those 37 felt happy to know the name of their illness, although only 11 (34.4%) of 32 patients who have not been told about the name of their illness wanted to know it. Among 39 patients who knew the name of illness, those who were taught it by mother or physician came up to about a half respectively. Only one patient was taught the name of illness by his father. Comparing 37 patients who knew the name of illness and 32 who did not know it, more patients thought necessary to take medicine in former group than later, but no other difference was noted.
Since no evil effect of recognizing the name of illness was noted, it seems desirable to make adolescent patients with epilepsy notice the name of their own illness.

View full abstract