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JOSEPH M. DOOLEY, MB, FRCPC; PETER R. CAMFIELD, MD, FRCPC
Dalhousie University I. W. K. Hospital for Children PO Box 3070 Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3J 3G9

KEITH J. GOULDEN, MD, FRCPC
Memorial University 710 Newfoundland Dr St Johns, Newfoundland, Canada A1A 1R8

SHEILA R. MacKEN, MB, FRCPC
Moncton General Hospital 401-100 Arden St Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada E1C 4B7

Am J Dis Child. 1989;143(11):1263-1265.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

Sir.—Corticotropin was used to treat 17 children with intractable epilepsy other than infantile spasms. Treatment was brief, averaging 5.9 weeks, with 3 to 6 1U/kg per day as the starting dose. Remission of seizures, persisting for a year or more, was achieved in 5 (55.6%) of 8 children with myoclonic/akinetic seizures but in none of the 9 patients with intractable generalized clonic or complex partial seizures (GTC-CPS) (P<.01, Fisher's Exact Test). No patient suffered serious side effects.

A short course of low-dose corticotropin therapy appears useful for some children with myoclonic/akinetic seizures but not for patients with intractable GTC-CPS epilepsy.

Corticotropin has been recognized as a valuable anticonvulsant since 1950.¹ Its use, however, has been mainly confined to children with infantile spasms. In 1983, Snead et all reported that corticotropin completely controlled the seizures in all 52 patients studied with infantile spasms and in 74% of 64 children . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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