Serial Cognitive Testing in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy: Longitudinal Changes with Medical and Surgical Therapies

Cognitive testing was repeated at intervals ranging from 1 to 8 years in 47 adult patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). Each patient underwent standardized batteries, including the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, Revised (WAIS-R), and Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS). Both surgically treated and nonsurgical patients were examined. The nonsurgical group underwent serial testing for clinical indications, usually for complaints of memory dysfunction. Longitudinal testing could not verify any mean deterioration of intellect or memory in this group; variance over time was similar to test-retest norms in healthy controls. WAIS-R scores before and after resection in the surgical group were similar to our serial WAIS-R data in nonsurgical patients. When we divided surgical patients according to side of epileptogenesis, we noted the expected differences in verbal and visual memory. Right-sided surgery patients improved significantly in Full-scale IQ (FSIQ) and tended to improve in logical memory on postoperative testing. Patients undergoing left resections had no retest improvement and tended to show decrease in several measures of verbal memory. Our findings should stimulate continued investigation into the natural history of lateralized memory and intellectual function in epilepsy, particularly to clarify longterm cognitive outcome in nonsurgical patients.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/65465/1/j.1528-1157.1994.tb02505.x.pd

As contribuições da ciência do desenvolvimento para a psicologia da saúde The contributions of developmental science to the health psychology

A ciência do desenvolvimento humano vem estimulando uma nova visão sobre a pesquisa em saúde, destacando variáveis contextuais e ecológicas que influenciam o processo de desenvolvimento e condicionam o diagnóstico, o tratamento e o prognóstico de indivíduos e grupos. O objetivo deste artigo é discutir as implicações da ciência do desenvolvimento humano à psicologia da saúde, área de intervenção educacional voltada aos diversos contextos de tratamento de saúde. Pretende-se, ainda, analisar criticamente alguns aspectos metodológicos dos estudos da área e apontar tendências atuais e futuras para uma análise mais funcional do processo saúde-doença. Espera-se que os profissionais de saúde se beneficiem dos argumentos e modelos propostos pela ciência do desenvolvimento humano, construindo ambientes de cuidados mais adequados às necessidades psicossociais de pacientes e familiares.<br>The science of human development has been stimulating a new perspective on health research, highlighting contextual and ecological variables that influence the process of development and condition the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of individuals and groups. The objective of this article is to discuss about the implications of the science of human development for health psychology, specifically for the educational area aimed toward intervention in several contexts of health treatment. Another objective of this article is to critically analyze some methodological aspects os the studies in this area and point current and future tendencies at a more functional analysis of the health-disease process. It is expected that health professionals benefit from the arguments and models proposed by the science of human development, designing environments that are more adequate to the psychological needs of patients and families