title: A follow-up study of cognitive function in young adults who had resective epilepsy surgery in childhood.
abstract: This study examined cognitive function in young adults who had epilepsy surgery in childhood. Thirty-seven individuals with medically intractable epilepsy with onset at 16 years or younger who had resective epilepsy surgery at least two years in the past (mean follow-up duration of 8.5 years) were assessed; of these, 13 had seizures within the year prior to the study, and the remainder had none. A comparison group of 16 individuals with childhood-onset intractable epilepsy who had not had surgery, all of whom had experienced at least one seizure in the past 12 months, was also included. The cognitive tests included measures of vocabulary, visuoconstructive ability, memory, and concept formation. Group differences were found only for the vocabulary and verbal memory tests, with the surgical group with seizures having the lowest performance. A subset of the surgical patients had preoperative data available on comparable tests, allowing for an examination of performance over time. Vocabulary scores were higher at follow-up, a finding which was present irrespective of seizure status. The results suggest that after epilepsy surgery in childhood or adolescence, few improvements in cognitive skills related to surgery or seizure outcome are to be expected.
authors: Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, ON L5L 1C6, Canada; Neurosciences and Mental Health Program, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON M5G 1X8, Canada. Electronic address: marylou.smith@utoronto.ca.
authors: Mary Lou
authors: ML
authors: Smith
authors: Department of Psychology, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa, ON K1H 8L1, Canada.
authors: Janet
authors: J
authors: Olds
authors: Department of Psychiatry, University of Alberta Hospital, Edmonton, AB T5J 2J7, Canada.
authors: Thomas
authors: T
authors: Snyder
authors: Division of Neurology, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON M5G 1X8, Canada.
authors: Irene
authors: I
authors: Elliott
authors: School of Social Work, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 2A7, Canada.
authors: Lucyna
authors: L
authors: Lach
authors: Division of Neurology, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa, ON K1H 8L1, Canada.
authors: Sharon
authors: S
authors: Whiting
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000473:pathology / Q000523:psychology* / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D019635:Neurosurgical Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects*; D012640:Seizures / Q000601:surgery; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cognition; Long-term follow-up; Neuropsychology; Pediatric epilepsy surgery; Surgical outcome