Cognitive skills in children with intractable epilepsy: comparison of surgical and nonsurgical candidates.
OBJECTIVE
To compare neuropsychological performance of two groups of children with intractable epilepsy: those who are surgical candidates, and those who are not.


METHODS
Intelligence, verbal memory, visual memory, academic skills, and sustained attention were measured in children aged 6-18 years. The effects of number of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), seizure frequency, age at seizure onset, and duration of seizure disorder were examined.


RESULTS
Both groups had high rates of impairment. Group differences were found only on the verbal memory task. Children who experienced seizures in clusters had higher IQ, reading comprehension, and arithmetic scores. Age at seizure onset and proportion of life with seizures were related to IQ. Performance did not vary with AED monotherapy versus polytherapy.


CONCLUSIONS
Few differences exist in cognitive performance between children with intractable seizures who are and those who are not surgical candidates. These findings suggest that children who are not surgical candidates can serve as good controls in studies on cognitive outcome of surgery.
Smith
Mary Lou
ML
Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, and Hospital for Sick Children, Ontario, Canada. smithml@psych.utoronto.ca
Elliott
Irene M
IM
Lach
Lucyna
L
D000293:Adolescent; D017668:Age of Onset; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001288:Attention; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D004522:Educational Status; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007361:Intelligence Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
D000927:Anticonvulsants