Research on childhood epilepsy in the People's Republic of China.

In the past decade research on childhood epilepsy in our country has progressed in a step-by-step fashion. At first clinical experiences of the diagnosis and treatment of childhood epilepsy and febrile convulsions as to the results of follow-up studies were published. These have helped to overcome the barriers of traditional prejudice and to encourage pediatricians to participate in work dealing with seizures. Research was then aimed at conducting a large-scale epidemiological survey to determine the prevalence and etiology of seizures and to find ways of preventing then. Another important step taken has been the study of the clinical pharmacology of anticonvulsants in order to keep up with the constantly developing new concept of therapeutic drug monitoring. This work has resulted in marked improvement of seizure control. Recently, research on the mechanisms of the seizure phenomenon has been carried out. Seizure models have been established. Present ongoing research topics include neurochemical mechanisms of seizures, particularly in the field of neurotransmitters and neuropeptides, the kindling phenomenon and the hereditary aspect of seizure susceptibility.