Incidence rate estimates of neuropathic pain are scanty and mostly address single types whereas the scope of the disease is wide. We aimed to calculate the incidence rates of neuropathic pain conditions in the Dutch general population and to assess treatment strategies in primary care. The study population included persons registered for at least one year in the Integrated Primary Care Information (IPCI) database between 1996 and 2003. Neuropathic pain was ascertained and classified by systematic review of computerized longitudinal medical records. Incidence rates (IR) were calculated, and the treatment for pain was compared to age and gender matched controls. Among 362,693 persons contributing 1,116,215 person years (PY), we identified 9135 new cases of neuropathic pain (IR: 8.2/1000 PY, 95%CI: 8.0-8.4). Mononeuropathy and carpal tunnel syndrome were the most frequent types with 4.3 and 2.3 cases/1000 PY followed by diabetic peripheral neuropathy and post-herpetic neuralgia at 0.72 and 0.42/1000 PY. Neuropathic pain was 63% more common in women than in men and peaked between the ages 70 and 79. More than 50% of cases received pain medication within 6 months after diagnosis, mostly consisting of NSAIDs or aspirin. Anticonvulsants and tricyclic antidepressants were only used by 4.8 and 4.7% of cases. Neuropathic pain is a rather frequent condition with an annual incidence of almost 1% of the general population and affecting women and middle-aged persons more often. The treatment mostly consisted of regular analgesics suggesting that pharmacological treatment of neuropathic pain is suboptimal.

We performed a meta-analysis of studies on benign epilepsy of childhood with centrotemporal spikes (BECT) to ascertain whether clinical characteristics and outcome can be stated unequivocally. Using the Index Medicus and Medline CD+, we identified 525 publications. After applying the criteria of the International League against Epilepsy (ILAE) for BECT, 32 publications on 2,561 patients remained. After correction for inclusion bias and multiple publications on the same patient groups, 13 cohorts, comprising a total of 794 patients, were included. The aggregate proportional remission was 0.977; hence, no factors influencing outcome could be identified. Age at onset ranged from 3 months to 14 years, age at last seizure ranged from 3 to 18 years. A Kurtzke survival analysis of proportions of children in remission by age was performed; at an older age, the proportion of patients in remission was 0.9997. Publications had highly heterogeneous methodologies and population characteristics; we conclude that current knowledge on BECT has been determined mainly by retrospective studies of biased cohorts, and that the uniformity per se of BECT as an epileptic syndrome may be, at least in part, a result of selection bias. We conclude that early prediction of seizure outcome in a new patient with BECT can not be given with certainty. Prospective, population-based studies are needed to delineate the clinical and EEG characteristics of this syndrome.

SUMMARY Anticonvulsant medication was stopped in a prospective study in 116 children with epilepsy who had had no seizures for a period of 2 years. A remission rate of 80O5% was found 5 years after withdrawal. The population studied was unselected, and based on children directly referred by general practitioners to the outpatient department. Among the many variables examined, such as type of epilepsy or seizure, presence of concomitant neurological or intellectual deficit, and epileptiform activity on the EEG, only the age of onset of seizures was significantly and positively correlated with the probability of recurrence after discontinuation of medication. In contrast to other recent studies, it was concluded that there are no reliable predictive factors for withholding from any individual "epileptic" child the benefit of attempts to stop medication after 2 years of seizure freedom.The consensus of opinion is that prognosis in childhood epilepsy after discontinuation of anticonvulsants is more favourable than that in adult epilepsy.' However, when fits have stopped in an individual child, the physician will not find easy answers to such questions as: how long should treatment be continued; and are there (clinical) factors which will reliably predict in this particular child whether or not treatment should be stopped? There is some controversy about the significance of various factors (the type of seizure, age at onset of seizures, and, in particular, the electroencephalogram (EEG)) which have bearing on this decision whether to stop or not to stop. These controversies may be partly explained by the differences in populations studied.' 2 The present series of children, which was unselected and based on a patient population directly referred by general practitioners, has been studied in a prospective fashion. The results, based on a 2 year seizure free interval, indicate that 80% of children do not have a recurrence of seizures within 5 years after stopping anti-

All children in our cohort, both those with typical and atypical BECTS, had a very good prognosis with high remission rates after 12-17 years. None of the predictive factors for disease course and outcome observed in earlier studies (other seizure types, age at onset, multiple seizures at onset) were prognostic in our cohort.

We performed a meta-analysis of studies on absence epilepsy (AE) to ascertain whether the outcome of this well-defined type of epilepsy can be stated unequivocally. Using the Index Medicus and Medline CD+, we identified 1,619 publications. After applying the criteria of the International League against Epilepsy (ILAE) for AE, 26 publications on 23 study cohorts with a total of 2,303 patients were included. Remission rates ranged from 0.21 to 0.89; they differed substantially due to heterogeneity between the studies in inclusion criteria, methods, follow-up length, and outcome definitions. One half of the patients developed generalized tonic-clonic seizures (TCS) in the course of the disease. The proportion seizure free was 0.78 for patients with absence seizures (AS) only, and 0.35 for those who developed TCS. The outcome of AE may be worse than previously stated due to the considerable proportion of patients developing TCS in the course of their disease. Early prediction of outcome in patients who present with AS cannot be provided with certainty.