title: [Longitudinal study of foci of peak potentials in children followed since birth (premature and newborn infants at term)].
abstract: The most significant results obtained in this study are as follows: Our group, in which the premature infants constitute one half, very often shows peak potential foci in the brain-current diagram. This applies in particular to premature infants at 2 years of age. What is remarkable is the group of 21 normal children among the 88 children, of whom the majority show peak potentials after 2 years. It is impossible to decide whether these peaks signify a lesion or a functional disorder only. From practical considerations it follows that the presence of peaks in children under 2 years of age is a serious symptom; such peaks should not be treated with barbiturates, as it is possible for them to disappear spontaneously. Long-drawn-out observations made in a period of four to five years have shown that epilepsy is a rare occurrence in children showing peaks in their brain-current diagrams between 2 and 5 years of age. The peak potential does not indicate a disease, but is rather an indication of a more or less transitory functional disorder, and it should be interpreted together with the clinical picture.
mesh_terms: D001766:Blindness / Q000175:diagnosis; D001925:Brain Damage, Chronic / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000175:diagnosis; D005071:Evoked Potentials; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007235:Infant, Premature, Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D013036:Spasms, Infantile / Q000175:diagnosis*
vernacular_title: Etude longitudinale des foyers de points apparues chez des enfants suivis depuis la naissance (prématurés et nouveaux-nés à terme).