title: Neuropsychological impairment in children with Rolandic epilepsy and in their siblings.
abstract: To assess and characterize a possible neurocognitive endophenotype associated with Rolandic epilepsy (RE), a clinical study was carried out to evaluate the neuropsychological profile of children with RE at onset and of their healthy siblings. Seventeen subjects were recruited (10 boys and 7 girls): nine patients affected by RE and eight siblings who underwent clinical and neuropsychological evaluations. All patients and only two siblings showed centrotemporal spikes on the electroencephalographic recording. Eighteen age- and sex-matched healthy children were assessed as controls. A significant impairment was found in language domain, attentional functioning, and short- and long-term verbal memory in both patients and siblings. A positive correlation between verbal comprehension and working memory scores was found in both groups. A similar neuropsychological profile of RE, which affected patients and their siblings with impairment in the same developing areas, supports the hypothesis of a specific neurocognitive phenotype in RE.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Chieti, Chieti, Italy.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Verrotti
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Matricardi
authors.forename: Deborah Lidia
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Di Giacomo
authors.forename: Daniele
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rapino
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Chiarelli
authors.forename: Giangennaro
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Coppola
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002648:Child; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology*; D004569:Electroencephalography; D019305:Epilepsy, Rolandic / Q000150:complications* / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D035781:Siblings / Q000523:psychology*