Drug and substance abuse in refractory epilepsy

Drugs and substances abuse in patients with refractor epilepsy were investigated in this study which includes 924 patients with intractable epilepsy were studied for serum levels of antiepileptic drugs and for drugs and substances abuse. Positive results for abuse were detected in 246 patients [26.62%], 56.5% of them were in the age group 20 - 30 years. Males outnumbered females with a sex ratio 1.46: 1. Cannabis was the first abused drug as it was detected in 29.27% followed by opiates in 21.95%, alcohol in 17.88%, benzodiazepine in 16.26%, tricylic in 8.54%, barbiturates in 6.1%. So, a screening test for drugs and substances abuse must be done in cases with resistant epilepsy even if patients deny the use of them

Termination of pregnancy in intrauterine fetal death by extra-amniotic administration as prostaglandin F2 alpha [PGF2 alpha]

Termination of pregnancy was performed in 20 pregnant females with intrauterine fetal death during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. The cases were enrolled into two groups [each n = 10]. The study group was subjected to extraamniotic administration of PGF2 alpha. In the control group, normal saline was administered instead of PGF2 alpha. Both induction-establishment interval and induction delivery interval were shorter than those reported by other authors using different routes of administration of PG or different drugs. None of the control group had gone into labor. Even there was no significant change in the Bishop score of the cervix in the control group before and after removal of the catheter. But in the study group there was significant increase in the Bishop score after expulsion of the catheter. All the study cases were successfully induced. None of the cases in the control group was induced