Health Update: Epilepsy changes

CHILDREN who have epilepsy show more behavioural changes than children with other chronic diseases, but doctors have never been able to explain why. A new study of epileptic children has found that when their drug doses were increased their physical well-being improved, according to a report in the Journal of Epilepsy. But when doses were decreased there was improvement in conduct and learning.

The researchers conclude that difficult behaviour is more likely to be caused by drugs than epilepsy, and reducing the dose should be considered as long as the drugs still control the fits.