title: Cognitive and linguistic abnormalities in benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the cognitive function and language ability in children with benign partial epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-five patients with benign partial epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes were included. They were divided into two subgroups. Group I: 10 patients with rolandic focus who were not treated. Group II: 15 patients with rolandic focus receiving treatment. A third Group of 12 healthy subjects have been studied. All children underwent standardized neuropsychological testing: electroencephalogram recording, Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-revised, Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-III (PPVT-III) and Boston Naming Test (BNT), both during active disease (T1) and 2 years after recovery from epilepsy (T2).
  
  
  RESULTS
  At T1 evaluation, no significant differences in group I and II patients about general intelligence, when compared with controls, were found. Group I and II patients were impaired with respect to controls in the receptive and expressive vocabulary evaluated with PCVT-III and BNT, respectively. At T2 evaluation, group I and II patients showed a normalization of the language abnormalities.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Deficits of speech-related abilities can be detected in children with this type of epilepsy: these dysfunctions seem to be independent of the effects of antiepileptic treatment and are reversible after remission of epilepsy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, University of Chieti, Italy. averrott@unich.it
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Verrotti
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: D'Egidio
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Agostinelli
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Parisi
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Chiarelli
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Coppola
mesh_terms: D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D019305:Epilepsy, Rolandic / Q000150:complications* / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007806:Language Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012074:Remission Induction