ObjectiveTuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is a multiorgan disorder and mostly associated with intractable epilepsy. Now several individual reports suggest that epilepsy in children with TSC might benefit from a ketogenic diet (KD). We prospectively studied the curative effect of 14 children with the KD in the treatment of TSC with epilepsy. MethodsBetween 2008 and 2015, we enrolled 14 children with TSC and epilepsy who received KD treatment in Shenzhen Children's Hospital and followed up for at least three months.Outcome was measured by the change of seizure frequency before and after the KD in the use of anticonvusant drugs, adverse effects, and change in cognitive function. Results14 children aged 8 months to 7 years were included. 7/14 (50%) children had a > 50% reduction in seizure frequency at 3 months on the diet, 5/14 (36%) children had a seizure free response. 12/14 (86%) children with refractory epilepsy, 6/12 (50%) children had a > 50% reduction in seizure frequency, 2 children had reduced medications, one child did not use any antiepileptic drugs during KD. 6 of 12 children with developmental delays had cognitive function improvement. ConclusionsKD is a generally effective and safe therapy for TSC children with epilepsy, especially for refractory epilepsy. KD could reduce antiepileptic drugs, and also improve children's cognitive function.
Objective We aimed to develop a self-management assessment scale for children with epilepsy and test its reliability and validity. Methods A research group was established, and the items were revised through literature review, group discussion and pre-investigation, and 280 patients with epilepsy in children were included, and the reliability and validity of the scale were tested. Results 28 items in 4 dimensions were developed to form the scale, namely, knowledge and belief of diseases and medication, compliance of medication and treatment, self-efficacy of medication and obstacles of medication. Confirmatory factor analysis extracted four common factors with characteristic roots greater than 1, and the cumulative variance explanation rate was 65.639%. The factor load of all items is > 0.5. The overall Cronbach’s alpha is 0.880, and the coefficients in seven measurement dimensions are all greater than 0.8. Conclusion The self-management assessment scale for children’s epilepsy drugs has good reliability and validity, and can provide a measuring tool for the drug management of children’s epilepsy diseases.