Meador K J
Department of Neurology, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta 30912-3200.
Epilepsia. 1993;34 Suppl 4:S34-8. doi: 10.1111/j.1528-1157.1993.tb05914.x.
Epilepsy is a heterogeneous disease with variable onset and prognosis. In general, patients with epilepsy have neuropsychological impairments. Their educational and occupational achievements may be lower than might be expected for their level of cognition. Some epilepsy patients suffer emotional distress, interictal behavioral disorders, and extreme social isolation. It is obvious that epilepsy and its sequelae impact on the patient's quality of life. What is not clear is the degree to which different factors contribute and the causes for extreme variance across patients. For example, the patients' perceptions of their disease affects quality of life more than actual seizure severity, but the mechanisms underlying this effect are not known. Quality-of-life research in epilepsy is in its infancy. In the future, such research will play an important role in assessing patient suffering, demonstrating the efficacy of treatments and interventions, and influencing medical economic decisions.
癫痫是一种具有不同发病情况和预后的异质性疾病。一般来说，癫痫患者存在神经心理障碍。他们的教育和职业成就可能低于根据其认知水平所预期的程度。一些癫痫患者遭受情绪困扰、发作间期行为障碍以及极度的社会隔离。显然，癫痫及其后遗症会影响患者的生活质量。尚不清楚的是不同因素的影响程度以及患者之间存在极大差异的原因。例如，患者对自身疾病的认知对生活质量的影响大于实际发作严重程度，但其潜在机制尚不清楚。癫痫的生活质量研究尚处于起步阶段。未来，此类研究将在评估患者痛苦、证明治疗和干预措施的疗效以及影响医疗经济决策方面发挥重要作用。
