الفهرس 
PEDIATRIC SEIZURES AND EPILEPSY
MEMORY IN CHILDREN WITH EPILEPSYOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
This clinical study was conducted to compare and
characterize the memory function of children with
childhood absence epilepsy (CAE), frontal lobe epilepsy (FLE)
and Benign Epilepsy with Centrotemporal Spikes (BECTS) for
early diagnosis, better management and good quality of life.
This study was conducted at the pediatric neurology
clinic of Neurology department at Ain Shams University
hospitals, Cairo, Egypt, 40 children with epilepsy participated
in this study and were divided into 3 groups (BECTSSS, CAE
and FLE).
Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological
disorders affecting about 1% of children
In children with epilepsy, school achievement is often
worse than predicted by intelligence quotient alone. Specific
cognitive deficits such as memory impairment may occur in
children regardless of intelligence level and influence academic
achievement and social interaction
Memory plays an important role in school performance,
as school age children have to learn and integrate new
information every day. Memory problems are common in
patients with epilepsy and may be differently affected by the
cause, course, or treatment of epilepsy Memory involves a network of interconnected
anatomical brain structures – hippocampus, parahippocampal
structures, temporal lobe neocortex, amygdala, and the frontal
lobe. Different patterns of memory deficit might therefore be
expected in specific epilepsy syndromes such as generalized
idiopathic, frontal lobe or temporal lobe epilepsy
The present study demonstrates that children with FLE,
BECTS and CAE show significant deficits in verbal and visual
memory. In addition, type of epilepsy, earlier age at epilepsy
onset, and longer active duration of epilepsy were associated
with memory problems. Our research findings underline the
importance of offering early assessments, especially for
children with FLE, with a longer duration and an early age at
epilepsy onset, with extensive neuropsychological assessment
protocols that include several measures of memory. Knowing
the outcome of these groups of children with epilepsy in
memory tests gives clinicians the possibility to establish
adequate and timely school intervention plans to diminish the
negative influence that this memory problems might have on
their academic achievement.
A careful history taking is necessary to determine the
seizure type and syndrome, current seizure frequency, age at
seizure onset, current and previous AED treatment, previous
epilepsy surgery, seizure timing (nocturnal if more than 75% of
seizures occurred during sleep), etiology (idiopathic,
cryptogenic, or symptomatic), cognitive status (normal learning difficulty or mental retardation), and
electroencephalogram findings (background, type, and location
of epileptiform discharge, and activation of the discharge with
sleep
Memory rehabilitation has gained wide acceptance with
neurologically impaired groups. Research reviews have
supported the effectiveness of a range of approaches, although
studies have generally involved small numbers with limited
data regarding generalization to everyday settings. The
evidence base for the value of memory rehabilitation in
epilepsy is woefully limited and conclusions are difficult to
make. No data yet exist regarding the longevity of any
beneficial effects that are found.
Memory disturbances are more common in epileptic
children, affecting their school achievement and hence their
quality of life in a negative manner and may be linked to a
higher incidence of behavioral changes.