Science and Seizures?New Light on Epilepsy and Migraine
- Author:
William G. Lennox, M.D.,
Sc.D., Assistant Professor of Neurology, Harvard University; Visiting Neurologist, Boston City Hospital. London: Harper & Brothers, $2, pp. 258.
It would not be surprising if some enterprising publishing firm brought out a series of inexpen- sive handbooks about the commoner chronic diseases, intended for sale among their victims. Nor would this be a bad scheme if we could ensure that the facts were presented by those who were really qualified to handle their subject, and had sufficient imagination to put themselves in the patient’s place when selecting their material. Attempts have, of course, already been made in this direction with certain com- plaints, such as diabetes and tuberculosis, and here we have, in Dr Lennox’s little book, a brilliant essay on epilepsy for the lay reader. The need for such a book is fairly obvious. The commonly accepted picture of epilepsy is a depressing one. Its victim suffers from fits which are likely to last as long as his life, and for which medical aid is unlikely to be effective. He is probably a self-centred, irritable chap, with a poor memory, low intelligence, very possibly has a criminal streak in his make-up, and is likely to suffer from further mental deterioration. Widespread belief in such gener- alizations has added grievously to the unhappi- ness of very many epileptics, whose complaint brings with it, in any case, as severe social handicaps as almost any other. They should read the facts for themselves in Dr Lennox’s book. Here they will find set out in simple language some account of the history of the disease, its causation, the part played by heredity, its various manifestations, its course and prognosis, and its treatment. Sound advice is also given about questions such as education, occupation, marriage and the indications for institutional care. Of necessity, so small a book must be rather dogmatic in tone, and we must not expect to agree with all Dr Lennox’s statements. In particular he gives the electro- encephalograph rather too prominent a place in the picture. This is an expensive apparatus requiring considerable technical skill and experience in its use and still more in the inter- pretation of the records. Moreover, electro- encephalography is in its infancy, and some may doubt if all Dr Lennox’s deductions from its findings will stand.
But Dr Lennox has written for a wider public than the epileptic and his relatives. He seeks to interest the intelligent and socially minded public in epilepsy, not as a hopeless and baffling disease, but as a widespread scourge which, given the will and the means, can be attacked at least as successfully as other disabling diseases that have caught hold of the public imagination.
He estimates the incidence of epilepsy in the United States at about 1 in 200 of the population, a high figure, and points out that the Government of that country is spending ten million dollars a year on maintaining less than a tenth of the total number of epileptics in institutions. Against that figure, he places the sum of 30,000 dollars spent in 1937 on research. Millions for maintenance, he remarks, but practically nothing for prevention. And yet the last few years have shown striking inroads made into our ignorance about epilepsy. New and more effective drug therapy, much biochemical and neurological discovery, and above all the fresh illumination afforded by electroencephalography have shown beyond doubt that epilepsy offers an extraordinary hopeful field for investigation. A new era of hope is opening up for the epileptic, but for that hope to be consummated we must have the interest and the driving power, not only of the clinician and the laboratory worker, but also of the general public. Research is mainly a response to public demand and Dr Lennox is out to create that demand. In America he has been associated with the foundation of a Layman’s League against Epilepsy. We are importing plenty of highly destructive material across the Atlantic just now. A layman’s league would be an effective munition in the war that we should continually be waging against a common enemy. J.T.F.
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