Are there changes in intelligence and memory functioning following surgery for the treatment of refractory epilepsy in childhood?
METHODS
A retrospective review of the neuropsychological and medical variables of 26 children who underwent a cortical resection as part of the management of their medically refractory epilepsy was conducted. Neuropsychological variables included pre- and postoperative measures of intelligence (Wechsler Scales) and memory functioning (Wide Range Assessment of Memory and Learning). Medical variables included age at onset of seizures, age at surgery, site of resection, and degree of seizure control postoperatively.


RESULTS
Twenty patients had temporal resections (13 left-sided). Six had extratemporal resections. In this series, cortical resection as treatment of epilepsy in children did not result in a significant change in performance on measures of intelligence or memory functioning. No significant correlation was found between the medical variables and the neuropsychological outcome.
Kuehn
Sally M
SM
Mental Health Patient Service Unit (Discipline of Psychology), Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, 401 Smyth Road, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1H 8L1. kuehn@cheo.on.ca
Keene
Daniel L
DL
Richards
Pauline M P
PM
Ventureyra
Enrique C G
EC
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014888:Wechsler Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data