Neuropsychological performance in children with temporal lobe epilepsy having normal MRI findings

作者：Mankinen Katariina^*; Harila Marika J; Rytky Seppo I; Pokka Tytti M L; Rantala Heikki M

来源：European Journal of Paediatric Neurology, 2014, 18(1): 60-65.

DOI：10.1016/j.ejpn.2013.08.005

• Temporal lobe epilepsy
• Neuropsychological performance
• Learning difficulties

Background and aims: Most information on the neuropsychological performance of pediatric patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is derived from selected surgical series. Nonlesional pediatric TLE patients were studied here at the population level in order to investigate the extent to which neuropsychological deficits predisposing to learning difficulties exist in this more common group. %26lt;br%26gt;Methods: Language, memory and executive functions were measured in children aged 8-15 years with non-lesional TLE and of normal intelligence (n = 21), and their performance was compared with that of healthy age and gender-matched children (n = 21). The effects of clinical epilepsy variables on performance were examined. %26lt;br%26gt;Results: Although neuropsychological performance did not differ between the TLE patients and the healthy controls, female gender, early onset, longer duration and abnormal interictal EEG had a negative effect on neuropsychological performance. %26lt;br%26gt;Conclusions: Children with early-onset epilepsy should be assessed carefully for neuropsychological impairment using sufficiently broad batteries of tests in order to detect even slight deficits. Our sample size was small and these findings should be interpreted as preliminary results and need to be confirmed in larger studies.

• 出版日期2014-1