Mah-Jong-induced epilepsy: a special reflex epilepsy in Chinese society

We present five patients of epilepsy in which seizures were triggered by playing or watching the traditional Chinese gambling game "Mah-Jong." One patient also experienced seizures while playing a computer version of the Mah-Jong game. This condition appeared to have a predominance of males (80%) and middle-aged onset (39.4 years). Four patients had generalized tonic-clonic seizures and one patient had partial seizures with secondary generalization. No spontaneous seizure occurred in these patients. Three patients had been receiving antiepileptic drug therapy, but without effective control over their seizures. Mah-Jong-induced epilepsy is a very peculiar form of complex reflex epilepsy that involves the higher mental activities. This phenomenon may consist of distinct pathophysiologic mechanisms from other reflex epilepsy induced by thinking and spatial tasks in idiopathic generalized epilepsies. This unusual reflex epilepsy is relatively benign in nature and antiepileptic drug therapy has uncertain benefits. It may be necessary to avoid playing the Mah-Jong game in order to prevent seizures.

[Sociocultural aspects of epilepsy in secondary school students in Bobo-Dioulasso (Burkina Faso)]

In Black Africa, epilepsy is usually affected by sociocultural attitudes. A school survey concerning epilepsy was conducted in February 1999 in Bobo-Dioulasso, an Islamic region. Knowledge and attitudes towards epilepsy in secondary school students was evaluated through focus group discussions done in secondary schools. Epilepsy was supposed to be a chronic disease attributed to brain damage, or spiritual. The students usually described the "Grand Mal" generalized tonic-clonic form of epilepsy. Epilepsy is believed to have hereditary causes and the students believed it to be contagious through saliva and physical contact. For students, epilepsy cannot be cured. When a treatment was proposed, only traditional medicine was supposed to be competent. If burns occur in the course of the disease, the prognosis is supposed to be bad. Generally fear and mistrust are dominant feelings among students despite the fact they are literate urban population. Their belief in the contagiousness of epilepsy could be a major reason for discriminating against an epileptic person. Our data suggest that there is a need to make additional efforts in order to increase the knowledge of the general population and the level of formal education. Poor knowledge and lack of information explained secondary school students attitudes towards epilepsy in Bobo-Dioulasso.

Childhood absence epilepsy with tonic-clonic seizures and electroencephalogram 3-4-Hz spike and multispike-slow wave complexes: linkage to chromosome 8q24

Childhood absence epilepsy (CAE), a common form of idiopathic generalized epilepsy, accounts for 5%-15% of childhood epilepsies. To map the chromosomal locus of persisting CAE, we studied the clinical and electroencephalographic traits of 78 members of a five-generation family from Bombay, India. The model-free affected-pedigree member method was used during initial screening with chromosome 6p, 8q, and 1p microsatellites, and only individuals with absence seizures and/or electroencephalogram 3-4-Hz spike- and multispike-slow wave complexes were considered to be affected. Significant P values of .00000-.02 for several markers on 8q were obtained. Two-point linkage analysis, assuming autosomal dominant inheritance with 50% penetrance, yielded a maximum LOD score (Zmax) of 3.6 for D8S502. No other locus in the genome achieved a significant Zmax. For five smaller multiplex families, summed Zmax was 2.4 for D8S537 and 1.7 for D8S1761. Haplotypes composed of the same 8q24 microsatellites segregated with affected members of the large family from India and with all five smaller families. Recombinations positioned the CAE gene in a 3.2-cM interval.

[An analytic epidemiologic survey of epilepsy in the Hui and Han nationality districts of Yinchuan]

An analytical epidemiologic survey of epilepsy was made with random sampling in the inhabitants of Han and Hui nationalities of Yinchuan city, Ningxia Autonomous Region. The sample of the population consisted of 10,415 subjects, including 1420 Hui nationality people and 8995 Han nationality people. The sex proportion, age, occupation distribution, and the residential years of Han and Hui nationality groups were essentially the same, rendering them comparable statistically. Through cross sectional comparative studies, it was revealed that the prevalence rates of epilepsy in the Hui nationality people were much higher than those in the Han nationality people. In order to find clues relating to the cause of such a difference between these groups, several possible risk factors were investigated and analyzed, but no definite conclusion could yet be made.