RESUMEN
PURPOSE: This study compares the first epileptic seizures between preterm and term-born children with periventricular leukomalacia and epilepsy. METHODS: From 108 cases having lesions of high signal intensity around the ventricles in T2 weighted imaging of a brain magnetic resonance study, we selected 37 cases that showed epileptic seizures two times or more and divided them into the group of preterm-born (27 cases) and term- born children (10 cases). A retrospective study was made by comparing the two groups with regard to age, type of the first epileptic seizures, EEG findings and responsiveness to anticonvulsants. RESULTS: The age of the first epileptic seizure was 22.2+/-18.3 months in the preterm-born group and 26.9+/-21.1 months in the term-born group (P=0.505). As for the first epileptic seizure, 11 out of the 27 cases in the preterm-born group had infantile spasms. Out of the 10 cases in the term-born group, 7 had complex partial seizures. In the preterm group, hypsarrhythmias were found in 11 cases, focal epileptiform discharges in 6 cases. In term-born group, focal epileptiform discharges were found in 5 cases but no epileptiform discharge was found in 3 cases. Intractable epilepsies were diagnosed in 6 cases and all of them belonged to the preterm-born group. CONCLUSION: More severe epilepsies such as infantile spasm and intractable epilepsies seem to be more common in preterm-born epileptic children with PVL as well as more severely abnormal EEG finding compared to term-born epileptic children.