abstract: Epilepsy is a chronic illness impacting the lives of over 300,000 children nationally. Sexson and Madan-Swain offer a theory that addresses successful school reentry in children that are chronically ill. Their theory posits that successful school reentry is influenced by school personnel with appropriate attitudes, training experiences, and by factors relating to the child's illness. The parents of 74 students, between second and twelfth grades, completed a questionnaire addressing their child's epilepsy and their current level of seizure control. Each child's homeroom teacher also completed a survey regarding their training experiences about epilepsy and their attitudes towards individuals with epilepsy. Additional information was gathered from the child's school regarding attendance rates, most recent Terra Nova test scores (a group achievement test), and special education enrollment status. Data were analyzed via four multiple regression analyses and one logistic regression analysis. It was found that seizure control was a significant predictor for attendance, academic achievement (i.e., mathematics, writing, and reading), and special education enrollment. Additionally, teachers' attitudes towards epilepsy were a significant predictor of academic achievement (writing and reading) and special education enrollment. Teacher training experience was not a significant predictor in any of the analyses. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Educational Psychology 2011

abstract: ABSTRACT Epilepsy is a neurological condition that sometimes pervades all domains of an affected child's life. At school, three specific threats to the wellbeing of children with epilepsy exist: (1) seizure-related injuries, (2) academic problems, and (3) stigmatization. Unfortunately, educators frequently fail to take into account educationally-relevant epilepsy information when making important decisions. One possible explanation for this is that parents are not sharing such information with teachers. This study surveyed 16 parents of children with epilepsy in order to determine the rate at which they disclosed the epilepsy diagnoses to their children's teachers, as well as the difficulty with which they made the decision to disclose or withhold such information. In addition, the relationships between such disclosure and parent-participants' perceptions of the risks of epilepsy-related injuries, academic struggles, and stigmatization at school were examined. Results indicate that all participants disclosed their children's epilepsy diagnoses to their children's teachers, and most (69%) reported that making this decision was "very easy." There were no statistically significant associations between disclosure and any of three parental perception variables (perceptions of the threats of injury, academic problems, and stigmatization at school). Limitations, implications, and directions for future research are discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.A. Educational Psychology 2011

Magister Scientiae (Medical Bioscience) - MSc(MBS) / Even though Tulbaghia violacea has been used to treat and manage epilepsy in South Africa by traditional medicine practitioners, no evidence in any literature has shown any scientific scrutiny of the effectiveness of the plant species in therapy. This project was intended, therefore, to investigate the anticonvulsant effect of the leaf methanol extract of Tulbaghia violacea by studying its effect against tonic convulsion induced by either pentylenetetrazole (PTZ), bicuculline, picrotoxin, strychnine or N-methyl-DL-aspartic acid (NMDLA) in mice. Qualitative phytochemical analysis, acute toxicity and HPLC studies were also carried out on the plant species. The doses of 200 (mg/kg, i.p.) and 400 (mg/kg, i.p.) of the leaf methanol extract of T. Violacae significantly delayed the onset of PTZ (100 mg/kg, i.p.)-induced tonic convulsion in a dose dependent manner. Leaf methanol extract of the plant species (200 mg/kg, i.p.) did not affect the incidence of PTZ (100 mg/kg, i.p.)-induced tonic convulsion while 400 mg/kg (i.p.) protected only one mouse against the tonic convulsion. Leaf methanol extract of Tulbaghia violacea (100mg/kg, i.p.) did not significantly affect the onset or incidence of PTZ (100 mg/kg, i.p.)- induce tonic convulsion. Phenobarbitone (12 mg/kg, i.p.), diazepam (0.5 mg/kg, i.p.) and muscimol (2mg/kg, i.p.) significantly delayed the onset of PTZ (100 mg/kg, i.p.)-induced tonic convulsion and also significantly reduced the number of animals convulsing. Muscimol (0.2 mg/kg, i.p.) did not significantly affect the onset or incidence of PTZ (100 mg/kg, i.p.)-induced tonic convulsion. However, combined therapy of sub effective doses of the leaf methanol extract of T. Violacea (100 mg/kg, i.p.) and muscimol (0.2 mg/kg, i.p.) significantly delayed the onset of PTZ (100mg/kg, i.p.)-induced tonic convulsion and but did not significantly reduce the number of animals convulsing. The combined therapy of sub effective doses of the leaf methanol extract of T. violacea (100 mg/kg, i.p.) and muscimol (0.2 mg/kg, i.p.) protected two of the mice against the tonic convulsion. Leaf methanol extract of Tulbaghia violacea (100-400 mg/kg, i.p.) significantly and dose dependently delayed the onset of tonic convulsion produced by bicuculline (30 mg/kg, i.p.), picrotoxin (20 mg/kg, i.p.) or NMDLA (400 mg/kg, i.p.)-induced tonic convulsion but did not affect the incidence of any of the convulsions. Phenobarbitone (12 mg/kg, i.p.), diazepam (0.5 mg/kg, i.p.) or muscimol (2 mg/kg, i.p.) significantly delayed the onset of bicuculline (30 mg/kg, i.p.) or picrotoxin (20 mg/kg, i.p.)-induced tonic convulsion and also significantly reduced the number of animals convulsing. Phenobarbitone (12 mg/kg, i.p.) or diazepam (0.5 mg/kg, i.p.) did affect significantly affect the onset or incidence of NMDLA (400 mg/kg, i.p.)-induced tonic convulsion. LY233053 (5 mg/kg, i.p.) significantly delayed the onset of tonic convulsion produced by NMDLA (400 mg/kg, i.p.) and also significantly reduced the number of animals convulsing. Leaf methanol extract of Tulbaghia violacea (200 and 400 mg/kg, i.p.) significantly delayed the onset of strychnine (2 mg/kg, i.p.)-induced tonic convulsion but did not significantly affect the number of mice convulsing. The dose of 100 mg/kg (i.p.) of leaf methanol extract of T. violacea did not significantly affect the onset or incidence of strychnine (2 mg/kg, i.p.)-induced tonic convulsion. Phenobarbitone (12 mg/kg, i.p.) significantly delayed the onset of strychnine (2 mg/kg, i.p.)-induced tonic convulsion and also significantly reduced the number of animals convulsing. Diazepam (0.5 mg/kg, i.p.) did not significantly delay the onset of strychnine (2 mg/kg, i.p.)-induced tonic convulsion and also did not significantly affect the number of mice convulsing. Phenytoin (30 mg/kg, i.p.) or DMSO (0.25 ml, i.p.) did not significantly affect the onset or incidence of bicuculline (30 mg/kg, i.p.), picrotoxin, strychnine or NMDLA-induced tonic convulsion. The qualitative phytochemical analysis of the plant species showed the presence of alkaloids, saponins, cardiac glycosides, flavonoids, triterpene steroids, quinones and tannins. The LD50 value obtained following oral administration of the leaf methanol extract of Tulbaghia violacea may be greater than 4000 mg/kg. The HPLC fingerprint of the leaf methanol extract of Tulbaghia violacea showed distinct peaks at the following retention times, 2.911, 3.269, 4.010, 7.597, and 15.122 min. The results obtained in this study indicate that the leaf methanol extract of Tulbaghia violacea has anticonvulsant activity. The results obtained also indicate that GABA, glutamic acid and glycine mechanisms may probably be involved in the anticonvulsant activity of the plant extract. The relatively high LD50 obtained for the plant species, given orally, indicate that it is safe in mice.

L'épilepsie affecte des millions de patients dans le monde. Les traitements disponibles sont symptomatiques, ils per récepteur mGlu7 du glutamate dans la modulation non seulement de l’excitabilité, mais également de l'hypersynchronisation des réseaux de neurones, deux facteurs cruciaux dans les crises d'épilepsie. J'ai parachevé ces découvertes qui ont été à l’origine d’une première publication (Tassin, Girard et al. 2016).A l’aide d’un nouvel agoniste du récepteur mGlu7, le LSP2-9166, lors de ma thèse j'ai ensuite étudié l’impact de ce récepteur dans différents modèles d’épilepsie chez la souris. Deux modèles complémentaires ont été utilisés : le kindling (embrasement), modèle chimique induit par le pentylènetétrazol (PTZ) qui sensibilise le cerveau jusqu’à générer des crises tonico-cloniques généralisées, et l’injection intra-hippocampique de kainate, mimant l’épilepsie mésiale du lobe temporal chez l'homme.Dans un premier temps j'ai observé une atténuation de la progression de la sévérité des crises dans le modèle de kindling au PTZ, sous l’activation du récepteur mGlu7. Cet effet a été corrélé à une inflammation, et une activation microgliale et astrocytaire plus faibles. Dans le modèle d’injection intra-hippocampique de KA, considéré comme pharmaco-résistant, l’activation du récepteur mGlu7 pendant la période d’épileptogenèse a augmenté la durée des périodes interictales et diminué la durée des crises ainsi que la réorganisation neuronale. Une fois les crises chroniques installées, l’activation aigu du récepteur mGlu7 a diminué le nombre de crises aussi fortement que le diazépam couramment utilisé dans le cadre clinique. Pour finir, des injections chroniques de LSP2-9166 chez des animaux naïfs (non épileptiques) n’engendrent pas de déficit cognitif ou comportemental détectables, ni de modification du niveau d’ARNm du récepteur mGlu7. L’activation du récepteur mGlu7 offre donc une cible stratégique dans nos deux modèles.Ces travaux permettent une meilleurmettent de traiter les crises sans pour autant éviter la progression de la maladie et présentent de lourds effets secondaires. La découverte de nouvelles cibles thérapeutiques et de nouveaux composés reste primordiale pour dépasser les limites des stratégies thérapeutiques actuelles. Au début de ma thèse, des études précédentes avaient montré une implication due compréhension du rôle du récepteur mGlu7 dans l’épileptogenèse. Ils participent ainsi à la recherche de futurs traitements. antiépileptiques adéquats. / Epilepsy affects millions of patients worldwide. The available treatments are symptomatic, they treat seizures without preventing the progression of the disease and have heavy side effects. The discovery of new therapeutic targets and new compounds is therefore essential to overcome the limitations of current therapeutic strategies. Previous studies have demonstrated substantial involvement of the mGlu7 receptor in modulating not only excitability but also hypersynchronization of neural networks, two crucial factors affecting epileptic seizures. These discoveries were at the origin of a first publication that I completed at the beginning of my thesis (Tassin, Girard et al., 2016).Using a new mGlu7 receptor agonist, LSP2-9166, in my thesis I then studied the impact of this receptor in different epilepsy models in mice. Two complementary models were used: kindling, a chemical model induced by pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) which sensitizes the brain to induce generalized tonic-clonic seizures, and intra-hippocampal injection of kainate, mimicking mesial temporal lobe epilepsy in humans.At first, I observed an attenuation of the progression of the seizures severity in the PTZ kindling model, under the activation of the mGlu7 receptor. This effect was correlated with weaker inflammation, and microglial and astrocytic activation. In the intra-hippocampal injection model of KA, considered as drug-resistant, activation of the mGlu7 receptor during the epileptogenesis period increased the duration of interictal periods and decreased the duration of seizures as well as neuronal reorganization. Once chronic seizures were established, acute activation of the mGlu7 receptor decreased the number of seizures as strongly as diazepam, commonly used in clinical settings. Finally, chronic injections of LSP2-9166 into naive (non epileptic) animals do not generate any detectable cognitive or behavioral deficits or changes in mGlu7 receptor mRNA level. The activation of the mGlu7 receptor thus presents a strategic target in our two models.This work provides a better understanding of the role of the mGlu7 receptor in epileptogenesis. It participates in the search for future more adequate treatments.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-07-22T20:50:45Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2010-04-28 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) / Introdução: A epilepsia é o distúrbio neurológico crônico mais comum no mundo. Além do tratamento medicamentoso e cirúrgico, tratamentos complementares têm sido estudados, como a prática regular de exercício físico. Apesar de importantes avanços no entendimento dos efeitos do exercício físico em modelos experimentais de epilepsia, pouco ainda se sabe sobre as respostas fisiológicas ao exercício em humanos, provavelmente pelas limitações práticas encontradas na realização de pesquisas em pessoas com epilepsia. Considerando que pessoas com epilepsia, na sua grande maioria, são sedentárias, o condicionamento cardiorrespiratório dessas pessoas pode estar prejudicado quando comparado com pares saudáveis, da mesma idade, sexo e status de treinamento. Adicionalmente, a avaliação das respostas eletrencefalográficas durante o esforço físico intenso em pessoas com epilepsia tem sido pouco explorada. A análise do comportamento das variáveis fisiológicas e eletrencefalográficas em repouso, durante a realização do teste de exercício cardiorrespiratório (TECR) e na recuperação após o teste pode revelar particularidades nestas pessoas, como já ocorreu em outros distúrbios, e tal constatação pode ser de grande utilidade para processos terapêuticos que utilizem o exercício físico. Objetivo: Avaliar as respostas fisiológicas e eletrencefalográficas, no estado de repouso, durante a realização do TECR e na recuperação após o TECR de pessoas com epilepsia, comparando-as com as de pessoas saudáveis. Casuística e Métodos: Foram avaliadas 40 pessoas de ambos os sexos pareadas pelo gênero, massa corporal, idade e status de treinamento, das quais 20 pertenceram ao grupo epilepsia (GE) e 20 ao grupo controle (GC). As seguintes avaliações e medidas foram conduzidas: nível de atividade física habitual, qualidade de vida, TECR, eletroencefalograma (EEG) e variabilidade da frequência cardíaca. Resultados: O nível de atividade física habitual realizada no lazer foi 14,4% maior no GC quando comparado ao GE. Na avaliação da qualidade de vida, foram encontrados valores significativamentes menores no GE no bem estar emocional (18%), na função cognitiva (31,5%) e no estado global de saúde (27%) quando comparado ao GC. Com respeito às respostas fisiológicas obtidas a partir do TECR apenas os valores de V . O2pico (16,2%), V . O2 do limiar anaeróbio (18,5%) e V . O2 do ponto de compensação respiratória (16%), foram significativamente inferiores no GE em comparação ao GC. Estes achados podem estar relacionados com o menor nível de atividade física realizada no lazer pelo GE. Embora a diferença não tenha sido estatisticamente significante, a análise do EEG mostrou que o número de descargas epileptiformes do GE diminuiu do estado repouso para o esforço físico (82%) e do repouso para a recuperação (74%). Além do mais, após a interrupção do TECR o número de descargas epileptiformes voltou a aumentar em aproximadamente 30%. Os índices que avaliam a variabilidade da frequência cardíaca, tanto no domínio do tempo quanto no da frequência, não se mostraram alterados entre os grupos no estado de repouso, na realização do TECR e recuperação após o teste. Conclusões: Pessoas com epilepsia apresentam menor aptidão aeróbia com relação à população geral. Tal fato parece estar associado com hábitos sedentários. Por outro lado, a prática de exercícios intensos parece ter um efeito benéfico para pessoas com epilepsia, caracterizado por uma redução das descargas epileptiformes nas fases de exercício e de recuperação, comparado com a condição de repouso. Concluindo, nossos achados demonstram que não há peculiaridades nas respostas fisiológicas durante o exercício incremental que requeiram um diferencial de cuidados na avaliação da aptidão física aeróbia destas pessoas. / Introduction: Epilepsy is the most common chronic neurological disorder in the world. In addition to drug treatment and surgery, complementary treatments have been studied, such as physical exercise. Despite important advances in understanding the effects of an exercise program in experimental models of epilepsy, little is known about these effects in humans, probably by the practical limitations encountered in conducting research in people with epilepsy. Whereas people with epilepsy are mostly sedentary, cardiorespiratory fitness of these people may be impaired when compared to healthy pairs of the same age, gender and status of training. Additionally, the evaluation of electroencephalographic responses by electroencephalogram (EEG) during intense physical effort in persons with epilepsy has been little explored. The analysis of behavior of physiological variables and EEG at rest, during cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) and in the recovery period may reveal peculiarities in people with epilepsy that may be useful in therapeutic procedures. Objetives: To evaluate the physiological responses and EEG in the resting state, during the CPET and in the recovery after CPET of people with epilepsy, comparing them with those of healthy people. Casuistic e Methods: We evaluated 40 persons of both sexes matched by gender, body mass, age and status of training, of which 20 composed the epilepsy group (EG) and 20 the control group (CG). The following assessments and measurements were conducted: level of habitual physical activity, quality of life, CPET, EEG and heart rate variability. Results: The level of physical activity performed during leisure time was 14.4% higher in CG compared to EG. In the evaluation of quality of life, were found values significantly lowers in the EG for the emotional well-being (18%), cognitive function (31.5%) and global health status (27%) compared to CG. With respect to physiological responses obtained from CPET only the values of V . O2peak (16.2%), V . O2 anaerobic threshold (18.5%) and V . O2 from the point of respiratory compensation (16%) were significantly lowers in EG compared to the CG. These findings may be related to lower levels of physical activity performed during leisure time at the EG. Although the EEG findings were not statistically significant, it was observed a reduced number of epileptiform discharges in the EG from resting state to physical effort (82%) and from resting state to the recovery period (74%). Moreover, after discontinuation of CPET the number of epileptiform discharges increased again by approximately 30%. The indexes which measure the heart rate variability, in the time and frequency domains, were not different between the groups in the resting state, during CPET and recovery after the test. Conclusions: People with epilepsy present lower aerobic fitness than the general population. This fact seems to be associated with sedentary habits. Moreover, the practice of vigorous exercise seems to have a beneficial effect for people with epilepsy, characterized by a reduction in epileptiform discharges in the phases of exercise and recovery compared with the resting condition. It seems that there are no peculiarities in the physiological responses during incremental exercise that required a differential care in assessing the aerobic fitness of these people. / TEDE / BV UNIFESP: Teses e dissertações

abstract: This study was designed to contribute to the existing research on the coping behaviors, social support, and mental health outcomes in parents of children with epilepsy in the United States. A questionnaire was disseminated and administered via a web-based interface. One hundred and fifty-two participants, predominantly Caucasian, married women with more than one child under the age of eighteen completed the survey. After controlling for demographic variables, mediational analysis revealed that perceived social support explained the relation between perceived child disability and depression and anxiety. Additionally, it partially explained the relation between perceived family burden and depression, anxiety, and stress. Further, parent perception of their child's disability and perceived family burden did not predict emotion-focused or social support coping. However, both emotion-focused and social support coping behaviors were related to reductions in depression in this sample. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Psychology 2015

abstract: From time immemorial, epilepsy has persisted to be one of the greatest impediments to human life for those stricken by it. As the fourth most common neurological disorder, epilepsy causes paroxysmal electrical discharges in the brain that manifest as seizures. Seizures have the effect of debilitating patients on a physical and psychological level. Although not lethal by themselves, they can bring about total disruption in consciousness which can, in hazardous conditions, lead to fatality. Roughly 1\% of the world population suffer from epilepsy and another 30 to 50 new cases per 100,000 increase the number of affected annually. Controlling seizures in epileptic patients has therefore become a great medical and, in recent years, engineering challenge. In this study, the conditions of human seizures are recreated in an animal model of temporal lobe epilepsy. The rodents used in this study are chemically induced to become chronically epileptic. Their Electroencephalogram (EEG) data is then recorded and analyzed to detect and predict seizures; with the ultimate goal being the control and complete suppression of seizures. Two methods, the maximum Lyapunov exponent and the Generalized Partial Directed Coherence (GPDC), are applied on EEG data to extract meaningful information. Their effectiveness have been reported in the literature for the purpose of prediction of seizures and seizure focus localization. This study integrates these measures, through some modifications, to robustly detect seizures and separately find precursors to them and in consequence provide stimulation to the epileptic brain of rats in order to suppress seizures. Additionally open-loop stimulation with biphasic currents of various pairs of sites in differing lengths of time have helped us create control efficacy maps. While GPDC tells us about the possible location of the focus, control efficacy maps tells us how effective stimulating a certain pair of sites will be. The results from computations performed on the data are presented and the feasibility of the control problem is discussed. The results show a new reliable means of seizure detection even in the presence of artifacts in the data. The seizure precursors provide a means of prediction, in the order of tens of minutes, prior to seizures. Closed loop stimulation experiments based on these precursors and control efficacy maps on the epileptic animals show a maximum reduction of seizure frequency by 24.26\% in one animal and reduction of length of seizures by 51.77\% in another. Thus, through this study it was shown that the implementation of the methods can ameliorate seizures in an epileptic patient. It is expected that the new knowledge and experimental techniques will provide a guide for future research in an effort to ultimately eliminate seizures in epileptic patients. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Electrical Engineering 2016

abstract: Alexithymia is a personality trait characterized by a diminished ability to identify and describe feelings, as well as an inability to distinguish physical symptoms associated with emotional arousal. Alexithymia is elevated in both patients with epilepsy (a neurologically-based seizure disorder) and psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES; a psychological condition mimicking epilepsy); however, different neuropsychological processes may underlie this deficit in the two groups. To expand on previous research considering factors contributing to alexithymia in these populations, we examined the extent to which scores on the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) were predicted by performance on measures of executive and language functioning. We studied 138 PNES and 150 epilepsy patients with video-EEG confirmed diagnoses. Neuropsychological tests were administered to assess executive functioning (interference scores of the Stroop Color-Word Test and Part B of the Trail Making Test) and language functioning (Animals, Controlled Oral Word Association Test, and Boston Naming Test). Hierarchical linear regressions revealed that the relationships between disparate neuropsychological domains and alexithymia were not moderated by diagnosis of PNES or epilepsy. Multiple regression analyses within each group demonstrated that phonemic verbal fluency and response inhibition were significant predictors of alexithymia in epilepsy. Thus, alexithymia may reflect impairments in language and aspects of executive functioning in both PNES and epilepsy. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Psychology 2017

Orientador: José Eduardo Corrente / Resumo: A epilepsia afeta milhares de pessoas mundialmente, se tornando um problema de saúde pública. Tem-se como objetivo deste estudo avaliar a distribuição espacial dos domicílios de pessoas com epilepsia no municipio de São José do Rio Preto, situado no Estado de São Paulo, Brasil, como também verificar sua distribuição de acordo com sexo, tipo de epilepsia, frequência das crises epilépticas e fatores socioeconômicos. Trata-se de um estudo epidemiológico transversal da epilepsia baseado em arquivos de atendimento primário e de registros computadorizados de ambulatório de hospital terceário, sendo a coleta de dados realizada a partir de 1/1/2003 até 31/12/2012. Foram rastreados um total de 136.512 receitas de fármacos antiepiléticos, com 2377 casos confirmados de pessoas com epilepsia. Foi constatado gênero feminino de maior predominância, em maioria adultos, com tipo de crise focal e esporádicas, referente as classes econômicas, as classes C e D concentram-se maior população acometida pela patologia. Foi verificado estatisticamente que a distribuição dos jovens não teve evidência de associação entre as regiões sociodemográficas estudadas, assim como o sexo, tipos, duração e frequência da crise; a evidência de associação foi encontrada entre as faixas etárias e as regiões sociodemográficas, com idosos predominando nas regiões Sul e Central, crianças e adultos na região Norte. Concluiu-se que este estudo foi capaz de evidenciar com clareza de imagens, a distribuição espacial de pe... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Epilepsy affects several thousand people worldwide, becoming a public health problem. This study aims to evaluate the spatial distribution of dwelling for people with epilepsy in São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brazil, as well as verify their distribution according to sex, type of epilepsy, frequency of epileptic seizures and socioeconomic factors. This is an epidemiological study on epilepsy based on primary care and computerized records of a medical outpatient clinic of a tertiary referral hospital. The data collection was performed from January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2012. A total of 136,512 prescriptions of antiepileptic drugs were screened, with 2377 confirmed cases of people with epilepsy. The female gender was found to be the most prominent in most adults with focal and sporadic seizures concerning the economic classes, in which the classes C and D are responsible for the largest population affected by this condition. It was statistically found that the distribution of young people had no evidence of association between the sociodemographic regions studied, as well as sex, types, duration and frequency of the seizures; evidence of association was found between age groups and socio-demographic areas with the elderly predominating in the South and Central regions, children and adults in the North. It was concluded that this study was able to clearly show the spatial distribution of people with epilepsy, corroborating other researches. The findings may help in preventi... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

Orientador: José Eduardo Corrente / Resumo: A epilepsia é um problema de saúde pública, sendo o mais comum dos distúrbios neurológicos. Neste contexto, o estudo tem por objetivo estimar a incidência da epilepsia na cidade de São José do Rio Preto, Brasil. Realizou-se um estudo epidemiológico retrospectivo da epilepsia, baseado em arquivos de atendimento primário e de registros computadorizados de ambulatório de hospital terceário a partir de 1/1/2003 até 31/12/2012. Foram rastreados um total de 136.512 receitas de fármacos antiepiléticos com os dados dos pacientes e da patologia, das quais foram confirmados 2333 casos de pessoas com epilepsia. A incidência média bruta pessoa/anos da epilepsia nos dez anos foi 77/100.000 hab./ano, sendo nos homens de 86,2 e 67 para as mulheres (p=0,0001), semelhante à incidência relatada em países subdesenvolvidos. Conclui-se que este estudo foi pioneiro no Brasil e apontar a real situação da incidência da epilepsia brasileira que ainda é distante do encontrado em países desenvolvidos, igualando o Brasil a países emergentes que ainda não dispõem de recursos de saúde sanitária distribuídos universalmente. O mesmo ocorre com os fatores de risco que também foram estudados, tais como acidente vascular cerebral, as causas perinatais, esclerose mesial temporal, traumatismo craniano, meningite, alcoolismo e cisticercose que ainda são muito prevalentes. Este estudo serve ainda para evidenciar a importância da feitura criteriosa dos arquivos médicos informatizados e manuais para o melhor conheci... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Epilepsy is still a major public health problem. This study aims to estimate the incidence of epilepsy in São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brazil. A retrospective epidemiological study on epilepsy was performed based on primary care and computerized records of a medical outpatient clinic of a tertiary referral hospital, from January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2012. A total of 136.512 prescriptions of antiepileptic drugs were screened, in which 2333 people had epilepsy bringing the start date of the epileptic seizure and address. The gross average person/years of epilepsy incidence in these ten years was 77/100.000 inhabitants/year, 86.2 for men and 67 for women (p= 0.0001), similar to the reported incidence in developing countries. It was concluded that this study was a pioneer in Brazil and relevant to pointing out the real situation of the incidence of Brazilian epilepsy, which is still far from that found among developed countries, equating our condition to the emerging countries that do not yet have health resources distributed universally. The same applies to the risk factors that have been studied such as cerebrovascular accident, perinatal causes, mesial temporal sclerosis, head injury, meningitis, alcoholism and cysticercosis that are still very prevalent. This study was also conducted to highlight the importance of careful workmanship of computerized medical records and manuals for the best epidemiological knowledge of Brazilian diseases and important to alert governme... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre