[Challenges in the treatment of epilepsy]

Epilepsy is one of the most important diseases of nervous system that involves 0.5-1% of the population. In spite of new developments in antiepileptic drugs, between 20-30% of epileptic patients can not be controlled and even those who are controlled with antiepileptic drugs suffer from their adverse events. Epileptic patients have different challenges in relation to the disease and its medications. This article has reviewed these challenges. The most common challenges are misdiagnosis of epilepsy or type of epilepsy resulting in wrong drug administration, noncompliance with antiepileptic drugs, adverse effects of antiepileptic drugs, drug resistance, non-pharmacological interventions and their limitations, photosensitivity, epilepsy problems in children and the elderly, pregnancy and epilepsy, driving and epilepsy and finally sudden death in epileptic patients

Creatinine, blood urea nitrogen and thyroid hormone levels before and after haemodialysis

A study was carried out on 57 patients with chronic renal failure in a hospital in Kerman city, Islamic Republic of Iran. Blood samples were taken before and after haemodialysis to measure blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine, triiodothyronine [T3] and thyroxine [T4] levels. Findings revealed that before dialysis T4 in 11 cases and T3 in 29 cases were lower than the normal range, but after haemodialysis only 3 cases for T4 and 15 cases for T3 were lower than normal levels. The remaining cases reverted to normal state. We suggest that a feedback relationship exists between the major end catabolic products [creatinine and blood urea nitrogen] and thyroid hormone serum levels