ABSTRACT
Background@#and Purpose This study aimed to determine the effects of oxcarbazepine (OXC) on the language function of patients with pediatric epilepsy. @*Methods@#We assessed the language abilities of patients aged 5–17 years with newly diagnosed focal epilepsy and the same number of age-matched healthy children using the Test of Problem Solving (TOPS) and the Receptive and Expressive Vocabulary Test–Receptive (REVT-R). The Mean Length of Utterance–words (MLU-w) was used to estimate linguistic productivity before and after OXC initiation. All patients received OXC monotherapy with a starting dosage of 10 mg/kg/day for 1 week, which in some cases was increased to 30 mg/kg/ day (or 1,200 mg/day). @*Results@#The study finally included 41 pediatric patients (22 males and 19 females; age 9.9±3.0 years, mean±standard deviation). All language parameters of the TOPS improved significantly after initiating OXC (determining cause, 12.5±4.8–13.7±4.1 [p=0.016]; making inference, 15.6±5.6–17.4±6.4 [p<0.001]; and predicting, 9.8±5.0–11.6±4.5 [p=0.001]). However, patients who received OXC did not exhibit a significantly extended MLU-w (determining cause, p=0.493; making inference, p=0.386; and predicting, p=0.341). Receptive language scores also significantly increased after taking OXC (REVT-R: 121.0±43.1–129.4±43.8, p=0.002), but the percentage of development age to chronological age did not vary (REVT-developmental quotient: p=0.075). @*Conclusions@#Our results suggest that OXC is safe and preserves language function in patients with pediatric epilepsy.
ABSTRACT
Objective@#This study aimed to clarify the relationship between several viral infections and clinical features of febrile seizures. The clinical expression pattern was determined according to the virus. @*Methods@#Data were collected on patients who visited the emergency room with febrile seizures from March 2016 to February 2019. The clinical characteristics of seizures and the clinical differences between each respiratory viral infection were analyzed. The severity of febrile seizures was measured by checking complex febrile seizures and electroencephalogram abnormalities. @*Results@#Of the 227 febrile convulsions, 138 (60.8%) were men, and 89 (39.2%) were women. Sixty-five patients (28.6%) had a family history of febrile seizure, 68 (30.0%) had complex seizures, and 13 (7.1%) had electroencephalogram (EEG) abnormalities. Of the 13 respiratory viruses examined, rhinoviruses were detected more significantly in 63 patients (32.4%), but there was no significant difference when comparing the rate of febrile seizure among patients with fever. There were no significant differences in the clinical features, such as body temperature, duration, and complex seizure. In addition, each virus showed a similar incidence of EEG abnormalities. @*Conclusion@#No significant difference in the clinical features and objective examination according to the virus were observed, and the tendency of developing febrile seizures is similar.
ABSTRACT
Objective@#This study aimed to clarify the relationship between several viral infections and clinical features of febrile seizures. The clinical expression pattern was determined according to the virus. @*Methods@#Data were collected on patients who visited the emergency room with febrile seizures from March 2016 to February 2019. The clinical characteristics of seizures and the clinical differences between each respiratory viral infection were analyzed. The severity of febrile seizures was measured by checking complex febrile seizures and electroencephalogram abnormalities. @*Results@#Of the 227 febrile convulsions, 138 (60.8%) were men, and 89 (39.2%) were women. Sixty-five patients (28.6%) had a family history of febrile seizure, 68 (30.0%) had complex seizures, and 13 (7.1%) had electroencephalogram (EEG) abnormalities. Of the 13 respiratory viruses examined, rhinoviruses were detected more significantly in 63 patients (32.4%), but there was no significant difference when comparing the rate of febrile seizure among patients with fever. There were no significant differences in the clinical features, such as body temperature, duration, and complex seizure. In addition, each virus showed a similar incidence of EEG abnormalities. @*Conclusion@#No significant difference in the clinical features and objective examination according to the virus were observed, and the tendency of developing febrile seizures is similar.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: This study is to assess the responsiveness of electroencephalography (EEG) abnormalities and their effects on language ability after initiating different types of antiepileptic therapy in children with newly diagnosed benign epilepsy of childhood with centrotemporal spikes (BECTS). METHODS: The records of patients newly diagnosed with BECTS (n=120; 69 males) were reviewed retrospectively. The patients were randomly treated with lamotrigine, oxcarbazepine, or topiramate monotherapy, and underwent at least two EEG and standardized language tests. Effects were compared using Pearson’s chi-square tests and paired t-tests. RESULTS: The recurrence rates for seizures in the lamotrigine, topiramate, and oxcarbazepine groups were 19.4%, 21.7%, and 11.4%, respectively, while complete or partial recovery (as indicated by EEG) occurred in 32%, 39%, and 16% of the patients. Patients in the lamotrigine group showed significant improvements in all parameters assessed by the Test of Language Problem Solving Abilities, except for ‘determining cause.’ Patients in the oxcarbazepine group also showed improvements, except for ‘making inferences’ (p < 0.05). Most linguistic index scores were worse in the topiramate group except for Mean Length of Utterance in Words. Patients in the lamotrigine and oxcarbazepine groups showed significant improvements in the receptive language test (p < 0.05). EEG improvements were not related to language ability. CONCLUSIONS: The improvements in language and problem-solving performance in children with BECTS were greater for lamotrigine and oxcarbazepine than for topiramate. However, EEG remission did not imply that language function would be improved after the treatments.