Proceedings
Possible Childhood Precursors of Suicide Among Epileptic Individuals
Matthews W S~~Barabas G~~Ferrari M
Describes a study which shows that epileptic children, compared to healthy or diabetic children, have low self-esteem, a sense of lacking control & of helplessness, & have many family & social disturbances. A number of studies indicate that the completed suicide rate in epilepsy is roughly 3 times that in the general population, perhaps due to the episodic, bizzare nature of seizures, & to the fact that seizures can deprive the patient of a sense of control. (RM)