Benign childhood epilepsies: academic difficulties and behavioural disorders

Benign childhood epilepsies: academic difficulties and behavioural disorders3 Introduction. Some papers published in the literature have shown that patients can present behavioural disorders and learning difficulties in benign childhood epilepsies (BCE). Aims. To review the patients diagnosed with BCE in our hospital and to determine whether they present such disorders. Patients and methods. The study consisted in a retrospective review of the medical records of patients diagnosed with BCE. An electroencephalogram (EEG) or video-EEG-polygraph recordings were performed on all patients during sleep. The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children was used to evaluate intelligence. Results. Data were collected for 102 patients diagnosed with BCE. Dispersed attention was observed in 51.6% of the patients with rolandic epilepsy and 16.2% displayed an impulsive temperament. In the group of patients with Panayiotopoulos syndrome, 30.3% displayed dispersed attention and 27.3% presented an impulsive temperament. A psychometric evaluation was carried out in 43 patients. The overall mean intelligence quotient was 95 (range: 55-126). In the three groups, academic achievement was good in approximately half the sample, regular in about 30% and poor in around 15%. In the group with rolandic epilepsy, the EEG showed a relation between frontal (p = 0.039) and occipital paroxysms (p = 0.004) and poorer academic achievement. In this group, the children with behaviours classed as dispersed, impulsive or hyperactive showed left-side paroxysms more frequently (p = 0.030). Conclusions. BCE are conditions with a good prognosis, but seem to be associated to learning and behavioural disorders Neuropsychological studies should be conducted on these patients to detect these disorders.