[Lamiktal in the treatment of epilepsy patients]. / Lamiktal v lechenii bol'nykh épilepsiei.

Lamictal (Lamotrigin) action was studied in 61 patients with partial and generalized epileptic seizures (not fewer than twice a month). Most of the patients received Lamictal in doses of 200-300 mg daily as well as other antiepileptic medications (before lamictal all patients were treated without effect with various antiepileptic medications). Effectiveness of treatment with lamictal includes: the cessation of epileptic attacks (5 patients), its more rare appearance (31 patients), transformation into more light fits (15 patients). Lamictal has a broad spectrum of antiepileptic activity: it stops generalized tonic-clonic seizures, absences, simple and complex partial seizures as well as secondarily generalized tonic-clonic seizures. The medication is also effective in patients with psychopathologic symptoms.

[Tolerance of antiepileptic therapy]. / O perenosimosti protivoépilepticheskoi terapii.

In 207 epileptic patients with unfavorable course of the disease the results of tolerance to antiepileptic therapy were investigated. The intolerance appeared at different stages of treatment as allergy (15%), intoxication (45%), hypovitaminosis (40%). The tolerance to combined therapy dosages was changing because of: the severity of organic CNS damage which manifested the epilepsy (head trauma, neuroinfection), residual signs of the pathology, progredience of the epileptic process and the therapy tactical drawbacks. The principles controlling the anticonvulsant therapy tolerance were formulated with due account of therapeutic tactics in progredient and slow-progredient epilepsy at its different stages.

[Clinical picture and dynamics of neurologic complications of drug therapy in epilepsy]. / Klinicheskaia kartina i dinamika nevrologicheskikh oslozhnenii u bo'lnykh épilepsiei pri medikamentoznoi terapii.

The authors have investigated the neurological complications in 108 epileptic patients treated for many years with anticonvulsants. The early diagnostic criteria were determined and the course of clinical manifestations described. The principles of treatment of the disease were grounded in terms of pathogenic diversity of its complications.

[Folic acid treatment of epileptics]. / Lechenie folievoi kislotoi bol'nykh épilepsiei.

The author describes the regimen of treatment with folic acid employed in 137 patients with epilepsy. The drug was given to 81 patients to control a complex of disturbances (psychic, neurologic, somatic) caused by folic acid hypovitaminosis secondary to a prolonged use of diphenin, phenobarbital and hexamidine and to another 56 patients to prevent its depletion and to improve the psychic condition. The author considers the questions of the theoretical justification of the pathogenetic treatment with folic acid of epileptic patients.

[Various matters concerning the improvement of therapeutic tactics in epilepsy]. / Nekotorye voprosy sovershenstvovaniia terapevticheskoi taktiki pri épilepsii.

The author has analyzed the results of the therapy of 200 epileptic patients and outlined the main causes of its low effectiveness: a high rate of the development and dissemination of foci of epileptic activity, a limited array of drugs for controlling non convulsive paroxysms of a complex structure, a decrease in the tolerance of large doses of drugs and intercurrent diseases. The author have developed principles of a therapeutic strategy based on the prophylactic treatment in relation to the stage and nature of the epilepsy course.

[Course of epilepsy in patients who have suffered adverse effects of anticonvulsant preparations according to the results of long-term follow-up]. / Techenie épilepsii u bol'nykh, perenesshikh pobochnoe deistvie protivoépilepticheskikh preparatov, po dannym otdalennogo katamneza.

The author studied 99 epileptic patients in whom 5-10 years ago anticonvulsants had caused side-effects. In 10% of the patients, a stable remission of the paroxysmal manifestations and an improvement of the mental status was achieved after controlling the complications. The majority of the patients exhibited slow progression of the epileptic process following a reduction of disturbances induced by intoxication and folic acid deficiency. Severe toxic, metabolic and allergic complications (30%) were followed by further considerable progression of the paroxysmal and psychopathological symptomatology. The degree of progression and severity of the organic brain lesion in epileptic patients is an important factor affecting the manifestation of the side-effects associated with anticonvulsants and the efficiency of further anticonvulsive therapy. In 4% of the patients the author observed repeated drug-induced complications. The prophylaxis of repeated complications of the anticonvulsant treatment prevents epilepsy aggravation.

[Radioimmunologic study of the plasma concentrations of folic acid and various antiepileptic preparations during the treatment of epileptic patients]. / Radioimmunologicheskoe issledovanie soderzhaniia folievoi kisloty i nekotorykh protivoépilepticheskikh preparatov v plazme krovi pri lechenii bol'nykh épilepsii.

Radioimmunoassay of folic acid, phenobarbital, and difenine done in 78 epileptic patients identified the correlation between the content of these substances in the blood plasma and the side effects during antiepileptic therapy. It was established that a fall in the content of folic acid following the attack and in the interictal period is of a transitory nature, in contrast to a steady deficiency caused by anticonvulsants. A decrease in the content of folic acid to the lower limit of normal was followed by a reduced incidence of epileptic fits. On the contrary, the larger the concentrations of blood folates, the greater the risk of paroxysm recurrence. The results of the study offer the prerequisites for the prophylaxis of side effects and the effective therapy with anticonvulsant agents.

[Bone marrow hematopoiesis in epileptics]. / Osobennosti kostnomozgovogo krovetvoreniia u bol'nykh epilepsiei.

In 72 epileptic patients the bone marrow was examined in various periods of epileptic paroxysms. It was found that the morphological composition of the medullary hemopoiesis was characterized by a myeloid reaction and a lowered mitotic activity of the bone marrow elements. All the shifts in the functional state of the medullary hemopoiesis correlated with the paroxysm periods and were reflected adequately in the peripheral blood picture. The states described differed sharply from the anomalous medullary hemopoiesis observed in epileptic patients having hematological complications, e.g. pernicious anemia caused by phenobarbital, hexamidine and diphenin.

[Neurologic complications following medical treatment of epileptic patients]. / Nevrologicheskie oslozhneniia pri medikamentoznom lechenii bol'nykh épilepsiei.

Neurological complications due to anticonvulsive treatment was analyzed in 48 epileptic patients. It is demonstrated that there is a changed structure and increased frequency of epileptic paroxysms in appearance of neurological complications. Special attention is drawn to the significance of residual signs in organic diseases and to their occurrence. Recommendations are given for prevention and treatment of complications.

[Neutropenia in epilepsy patients]. / Neitropenii u bol'nykh épilepsiei

Blood neutrophils were studied in epileptic patients. Differentiation of neutropenia induced by epilepsy from neutropenia due to anticonvulsants enabled one to reveal that incidence of the latter amounts to 6%. Differentiation of drug-induced neutropenia (54 observations) depending on the pathogenetic mechanism or origin (tonic and allergic), features of the blood picture and the nature of the disease course (stable, recurrent, transitory) is of special importance for diagnosis and choice of therapeutic tactics.

[Clinical characteristics of psychopathologic changes induced by medicinal anti-epileptic therapy]. / Klinicheskaia kharakteristika psikhopatologicheskikh izmenenii, vyzvannykh medikamentoznoi protivoépilepticheskoi terapiei

On the basis of 48 clinical observations the authors describe some psychopathological changes due to certain anticonvulsive drugs used in the treatment of epilepsy (phenobarbital with diphenin or hexamindin, phenobarbital with finlepsin and bensodiazepine). The report contains an analysis of the causes leading to complications: a relative and absolute overdosage, a negative and positive interference of drugs.