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Summary:Pitrpo.\e: To estimate the prevalence of epilepsy in India by meta-analysis of previously published and unpublished studies and to determine patterns of epilepsy by using community-based studies.Method.s: We attempted to identify as many previously publiahed and unpublished studies as possible on the prevalence of epilepsy in India. The studies were assessed with regard to methods and definitions. The prevalence rates for rural and urban populations and for men and wonien were calculated with a 95% confidence interval (CI). The studies that provided detail5 on age structure, age-specific rates, and patterns of epilepsy were chosen for meta-analysis. Both crude value5 and age-standardi.d prevalence rates were calculated after accounting for heterogeneity.Rcm/t.s: Twenty studies were found involving a sample population of 598,9 10, among whom 3,207 had epilepsy. This resulted in a crude prevalence of 5.35/1,000. After a correction lor heterogeneity due to interstudy variation, the overall prevalence per 1,000 (and its 95% CI) was 5.33 (4.25-6.41); with urban areas at 5.1 1 (3.49-6.73): rural areas, 5.47 (4.04-6.9); men, S.88 (3.89-7.87): and women 5.5 I (3.49-753). After correction for the variability in estimates of heterogeneity, agestandardized rates (froin five studies) revealed that the prevalence rates per 1,000 (and the 95% CI), were as follows: overall, 5.59 (4.15-7.03); men, 6.05 (3.79-8.3 I): women, 5. I8 (3.04-7.32): urban, 6.34 (3.43-9.25): rural, 4.94 (3.12-6.76). Urban men and women had a higher prevalence of epilepsy compared with rural oneb. however the difference was not statistically significant. Age-specific prevalence rates were higher in the younger age group, with the onset of epilepsy reported mostly in the first three decades of the sample population's lives. The treatment gap (i.e., the percentage of those with epilepsy who were receiving no or inadequate treatment) was more than 70% in the rural areas.Concln.sions: Based on the total projected population of India in the year 2001, the estimated number of people with epilepsy would be 5.5 million. Based on a single study on the incidence of epilepsy. the number of new cases of epilepsy each year would be close to half a million. Because rural population constitutes 74% of the Indian population. the number of people with epilepsy in rural areas will be -4.1 million. thi-ee fourths of whom will not be getting any specific treatment :IS per the present standard. Key Words: Epilepsy-Prevalence-Metaanal y sis-Epidemiology-India.The incidence and prevalence of epilepsy varies widely throughout the world. It is believed that information on the epidemiology of epilepsy in developing countries is relatively limited, with some studies reporting prevalence rates several times higher than those in the developed countries ( 1-5). Reliable prevalence rates are needed to judge the burden of epilepsy, and to develop programs and priorities to tackle the problem. The objective of this study is to estimate the prevalence of epilepsy in India by a tn...

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The regulatory role of thidiazuron (TDZ) and explant factors in imparting somatic embryogenic potential was assessed in relation to endogenous growth regulator levels in peanut (Arachis hypogaea L. cv. Tango). TDZ induced somatic embryogenesis over a range of concentrations (0.5 to 10 μM). Culture of seedlings for just 2 days on TDZ‐supplemented medium was sufficient to induce somatic embryogenesis. Seedling age and retention or removal of cotyledons during culture influenced morphogenic potential significantly. The younger the seedlings, the better was the embryogenic response to TDZ treatment. The embryogenic potential of seedlings was limited for explants with no cotyledons and they did not respond to increasing levels of TDZ. In contrast, retention of at least one or both the cotyledons resulted in increased response to TDZ. Endogenous levels of cytokinins, auxins and abscisic acid were influenced by TDZ treatment, while TDZ itself was detected only in the cotyledons. The cytokinin N6‐(2‐iso‐pentenyl)adenine (2iP) fluctuated on a 10‐day cycle in the cotyledons; TDZ treatment suppressed this change and caused an overall decrease in the pool of available 2iP in the tissue. It appeared that TDZ induced somatic embryogenesis in peanut by influencing endogenous levels of both auxin and cytokinins.

In vitro regeneration in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) was achieved by direct culture of mature seeds on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with either N-phenyl-N' (-1,2,3-thidiazol-5-yl) urea (thidiazuron, TDZ) or N6-benzylaminopurine (BAP). Multiple shoots formed de novo without an intermediary callus phase at the cotyledonary notch region of the seedlings within 2 to 3 weeks of culture initiation. TDZ was found to be more effective compared to BAP as an inductive signal of regeneration. The former induced multiple shoot formation at all the concentrations tested (1 PM to 100 PM), although, maximum morphogenic response was observed at 10 PM concentration. Addition of naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) alone or in combination with BAP to the MS medium failed to invoke a similar response. When the TDZ supplemented medium was amended with L-proline, the resultant regenerants were mostly somatic embryos. Histological investigations confirmed the switch in the regeneration pathway from directly formed adventitious shoots to embryogenesis. For obtaining plantlets, adventitious shoots were rooted on MS medium supplemented with 2.5 ,uM NAA; somatic embryos were germinated and established on MS medium. Normal plants were regenerated from both adventitious shoots and somatic embryos and transferred to soil.Abbreviations: BAP = 6-benzylaminopurine; MS = Murashige and Skoog [ 141 basal medium; NAA = naphthaleneacetic acid; TDZ = thidiazuron [N-phenyl-N'(-1,2,3,-thidiazol-5yl)-urea]