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Neuropsychological assessment in children with absence epilepsy

From the Division of Pediatric Neurology (Drs. Pavone, Bianchini, Incorpora, and Parano), University of Catania; Department of Neurology (Drs. Trifiletti and Parano), Neuroscience and Pediatrics, The New York Hospital–Cornell University Medical Center, New York, NY; Garibaldi Hospital (Dr. Pavone), Catania; and IBFSNC (Dr. Parano), CNR, Catania, Italy.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Piero Pavone, Divisione di Neurologia Pediatrica, Clinica Pediatrica, Università di Catania, Viale Andrea Doria 6, 95125 Catania, Italy; e-mail: ppavone{at}mbox.unict.it

OBJECTIVE: To define cognitive deficits in children with absence epilepsy.

BACKGROUND: Cognitive deficits have often been reported in children with epilepsy, but have rarely been characterized in patients with a specific epileptic syndrome.

METHODS: Detailed neuropsychological testing was carried out on 16 right-handed children with absence epilepsy with similar clinical and EEG findings, and the findings were compared to 16 well-matched right-handed children without absence epilepsy.

RESULTS: The authors found lower scores of measures of general cognitive functioning and visuospatial skills in patients with absence epilepsy, as compared to controls. Memory disturbances were also detected in absence epilepsy patients, with selective involvement of nonverbal memory and delayed recall. In contrast, verbal memory and language skills were relatively preserved. Patients whose seizures began at an earlier age seemed to have more severe cognitive deficits.

CONCLUSION: Language skills tend to be relatively well preserved in children with generalized epilepsy, with more dysfunction seen in global terms rather than specific lateralizing deficits. Patients with absence epilepsy seem to show a similar neurocognitive profile that may be a reflection of the underlying epilepsy syndrome.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				G. M. Ronen, B. F. Meaney, C. Cunningham, P. Pavone, R. Bianchini, G. Incorpora, A. Pavone, E. Parano, and R. R. Trifiletti Neuropsychological assessment in children with absence epilepsy Neurology, November 27, 2001; 57(10): 1940 - 1940. [Full Text] [PDF]

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