Various dosage forms of valproic acid (VPA) prescribed for 53 child patients with epilepsy were analyzed. These patients were all given medication instructions during hospitalization at the department of Child Neurology for 21 months from 1 October 1993 to the end of June 1995. Patients less than 1 year old, who were treated with VPA, represented the largest group in our study. The prescription frequency of syrup, fine granules, long-active granules, tablets and longactive tablets in VPA dosage forms was 39, 23, 15, 15 and 8%, respectively. The selection of dosage form changed from liquid form to the powder and then to the tablet as the patient age increased. These results suggest that various dosage forms of antiepileptics such as VPA contribute to not only the pharmacotherapy of such child patients with epilepsy but also to an improvement in their quality of life.
With the use of ATAC-350 (Nihon Kohden) a study was made of the effects of wearing contact lenses on the unit discharges of the reticular formation induced by photic stimulation in rabbits.1) By use of an interval histogram, it was demonstrated that wearing contact lenses led to a marked increase in the frequency of unit discharges in the midbrain reticular formation induced by photic stimulation.2) In the pulse count histogram, an increase in the frequency of the unit discharges of 90msec latency induced by photic stimulation was observed by wearing contact lenses.3) It was assumed that the increase of the unit discharges was due to an increase of activity of the reticular formation which was elicited by the pain following wearing contact lenses.
Objective To analyse the effect of different preterm birth categories on behavioural outcomes. Design Prospective cohort design. Settings The Japanese Longitudinal Survey of Babies in the 21st Century was used for the study. Subjects Neonates born in 2001 in Japan (n=34 163) and followed up at the age of 8 years. Post-term births were excluded and the sample was divided into four groups according to gestational age: <34 weeks, 34–36 weeks, 37–38 weeks and 39–41 weeks. Outcome measures Seven behavioural outcomes were examined: three attention problems and four delinquent/aggressive behaviours. Results Logistic regression was used to estimate adjusted ORs and 95% CIs for each outcome. Positive associations were found between preterm birth (<37 weeks) and adverse behavioural outcomes compared with full-term birth (39–41 weeks). For attention problems, the OR for ‘inability to wait his/her turn’ was increased by 1.72 (95% CI 1.22 to 2.43) for gestational age <34 weeks and by 1.28 (95% CI 1.03 to 1.59) for 34–36 weeks’ gestation. For delinquent/aggressive behaviour, the OR for the outcome ‘destroying books/toys’ was increased by 1.46 (95% CI 1.07 to 1.99) for gestational age <34 weeks, while the outcome ‘disturbance in public’ was increased by 1.20 (95% CI 1.04 to 1.38) for 34–36 weeks’ gestation. Conclusions Children who are born <34 weeks, but also between 34 and 36 weeks, are at increased risk of behavioural problems related to attention and delinquent/aggressive behaviour when 8 years old.
