Role of the epidemiology in the evaluation of the severity of childhood epilepsies.

Numerous reviews try to give some data on the frequency of drug-resistant e pilepsies. Multiple bins interfere with the results of these studies: defin ition of a drug-resistant epilepsy, age at onset of seizures, remission wit h treatment, duration of rite remission without treatment, duration of the follow-up... Two indices are available to understand and appreciate a drug-resistance: r emission-rate of seizures with treatment, remission rate after drug withdra wal. With the results of these studies, it is possible to individualize some ris k factors of drug-resistance in children, owing to a better indication of t he prescription of nerv anti-epileptic drugs and/or surgery.