Epilepsy-associated stigma is a well-recognized phenomenon that adversely impacts the lives of people with epilepsy (PWE). The burden of stigma follows power differentials, with socially and economically disenfranchised groups being particularly susceptible. To guide instrument development for quantitative studies, we conducted a series of focus group discussions among PWE and found that women ...

Periodic composite ultrasonic transducers offer many advantages but the periodic pillar architecture can give rise to unwanted modes of vibration which interfere with the piston like motion of the fundamental thickness mode. In this paper, viscoelastic loss is incorporated into a three-dimensional plane wave expansion model (PWE) of these transducers. A comparison with experimental and finite e...

Epilepsy remains misunderstood, particularly in resource poor countries (RPC). We developed and validated a tool to assess beliefs and attitudes about epilepsy among people with epilepsy (PWE) in Kilifi, Kenya. The 50-item scale was developed through a literature review and qualitative study findings, and its reliability and validity were assessed with 673 PWE. A final scale of 34 items had Cro...

OBJECTIVE It was to evaluate the relationships between fatigue and excessive daytime sleepiness, sleep quality, depression and anxiety. METHODS This was a cross-sectional study on 98 unselected adult patients with epilepsy (PWE) at a tertiary center. It used clinical-sociodemographic characteristics, fatigue measured by the SF-36 vitality subscale (VsSF-36) and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, P...

In this paper we present a fast and efficient method to find partial weight enumerator (PWE) for binary linear block codes by using the error impulse technique and Monte Carlo method. This PWE can be used to compute an upper bound of the error probability for the soft decision maximum likelihood decoder (MLD). As application of this method we give partial weight enumerators and analytical perfo...

Effective chronic disease management (CDM) requires the ready availability and communication of accurate, clinical disease specific information. Using epilepsy as a probe into CDM, we report on the availability and reliability of clinical information in the primary care records of people with epilepsy (PWE). The medical records of 374 PWE from 53 general practices in the Mid-West region of Irel...

For a long time, there has been a misconception that all antidepressant drugs have proconvulsant effects. Yet, antidepressants of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) families have been not only shown to be safe when used in patients with epilepsy (PWE) but have been found to display antiepileptic properties in animal models of...

People with epilepsy (PWE) are restricted from driving because of the concern over seizure-related car accidents. We investigated the characteristics of driving in these people and aimed to identify factors associated with driving in those with uncontrolled seizures. Of 290 epilepsy patients, 58% had a driver's license, 40% had driven during the last year. Of 179 persons with uncontrolled seizu...

A pressurized water extraction (PWE) method was developed in order to extract β-glucans with bile acids-binding capacities from cultivated mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus, Lentinula edodes, and Pleurotus ostreatus) to be used as supplements to design novel foods with hypocholesterolemic properties. Extraction yields were higher in individual than sequential extractions being the optimal extraction...

BACKGROUND Epilepsy, a chronic disorder of brain characterised by a predisposition to generate epileptic seizures, has an effect on the psychosocial well-being of sufferers. Measuring the quality of life (QOL) of people with epilepsy (PWE) is increasingly recognized as an important component of clinical management. QOL measures differ between countries and there is limited information regarding...