Several studies on convulsive disorders are being planned and tested for feasibility, or are in progress. A protocol is in effect for a clinical study of the Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS), a severe childhood epileptic encephalopathy with significant morbidity, characterized by uncontrolled seizures, mental retardation, and possible mental deterioration, to define the pathophysiology and anatomic locus of disturbance in LGS. We are evaluating the feasibility of performing randomized and placebo-controlled clinical trials of treatment after an initial convulsion in subjects presenting for care to a consortium of hospitals in Jerusalem. With Yugoslav colleagues, we are examining the utility of the electroencephalogram as a predictor of recurrence of febrile seizures in a defined population in Yugoslavia.
