Beneficial effects of antiepileptic medication on absence seizures and cognitive functioning in children

Siren, Auli; Kylliäinen, Anneli; Tenhunen, Mirja; Hirvonen, Kari; Riita, T.; Koivikko, Matti

doi:10.1016/j.yebeh.2007.04.009

Cited by 43 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 20 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…To which extent such short nonconvulsive epileptic seizures have clinical relevant effects on cognitive function is still in debate (Niemann et al., 1985; Ellenberg et al., 1989; Mandelbaum & Burack, 1997; Sirén et al., 2007). This question is of more than theoretical interest because decisions on treatment in daily clinical practice sometimes depend in part on the question of whether such short seizures diminish cognitive functioning (Stores, 1990).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The cognitive effects of interictal epileptiform EEG discharges and short nonconvulsive epileptic seizures

et al. 2012

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

SUMMARYPurpose: Educational difficulties or even severe cognitive deterioration is seen in many childhood epilepsy syndromes. Many of those cognitive deficits are related directly to the brain disorder underlying the epilepsy syndrome. However, in other types of epilepsy, the epileptic seizures and/or epileptiform activity can be the dominant factor. This is especially unknown for the more ''subtle'' short nonconvulsive seizure types. For this reason, we analyzed a new cohort of children. Methods: A cross-sectional study of 188 children with epilepsy. Electroencephalography (EEG)-video recordings and cognitive testing were performed simultaneously. The results of children with short nonconvulsive seizures during a 2-h testing session were compared with all children with epilepsy without seizures during the 2-h cognitive testing session and with controls without epilepsy. In a second analysis the cognitive effects of frequency of epileptiform EEG discharges were analyzed. Key Findings: The cognitive effects of short nonconvulsive seizures were large, ranging from 0.5 to 1 standard deviation and concerned global cognitive function, speed of central information processing, and memory function. In children without seizures during cognitive testing, the occurrence of frequent epileptiform discharges showed more subtle effects. These effects were independent from the occurrence of short nonconvulsive seizures. Significance: We concluded that although the effect is less pronounced in number of areas involved and magnitude, the type of association between frequent epileptiform activity (>1% of the time) and cognitive function in children with epilepsy is comparable to the association between short nonconvulsive seizures and cognitive function.

show abstract

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The cognitive effects of interictal epileptiform EEG discharges and short nonconvulsive epileptic seizures

et al. 2012

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…It is generally considered a benign type of epilepsy, although complete remission is not achieved in about 19% of patients 3 . In patients with absence seizures, neuropsychological studies have documented cognitive dysfunction that improved after seizures had stopped 4 . Many AEDs are available to physicians for the treatment of absence seizures; generally this form of epilepsy needs treatment because absences are very frequent throughout the day.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Levetiracetam in absence epilepsy

Verrotti

Cerminara

Domizio

et al. 2008

Develop Med Child Neuro

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The aim of the study was to assess the efficacy, tolerability, and safety of levetiracetam therapy in children and adolescents with absence epilepsy. Twenty-one participants (11 male, 10 female) with typical absence seizures were enrolled in this prospective study from seven centres in Italy. The mean age and age range at time of enrolment into the study were 8 years 9 months (SD 0.9) and 5 years 1 month to 13 years respectively. All patients were carefully evaluated at 6 months from baseline, and 12 patients were also re-evaluated at 12 months after the beginning of therapy with levetiracetam. At the 6-month evaluation, out of 21 patients studied, 11 were seizure free and one showed 'decreased' seizures (more than 50% reduction in seizures). A less than 50% reduction in seizures was observed in nine patients. At the 12-month evaluation, 10 patients were completely seizure free and two were seizure free with some anomalies in electroencephalograms. Two patients who had shown no improvement at 6 months had decreased seizures at the second follow-up. Our results suggest that monotherapy with levetiracetam could be effective and well tolerated in patients with childhood absence epilepsy and juvenile absence epilepsy. Prospective, large, long-term double-blind studies are needed to confirm these findings.

show abstract

“…In contrast to these studies, Sirén and co-worker showed that visual memory and delicate motor continuity were enhanced in children treated with VPA (Sirén et al 2007). TPM is a newer AED, which is widely used for infantile spasms and complex partial seizures in children.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Effects of chronic treatment with commonly used antiepileptic drugs on passive avoidance learning in prepubertal rats

Yıldırım¹,

Abidin²,

Cansu³

2013

jecm

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Article HistoryReceived 29 / 12 / 2012 Accepted 27 / 01 / 2013Antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), which are widely used to control and prevent epileptic seizures in children with epilepsy, have potential cognitive side effects. There have been several reports respecting different effects of the first and second generation ADEs on learning and memory. Therefore, we investigated the effects of valproate, carbamazepine, levetiracetam, oxcarbazepine, lamotrigine and topiramate, administered chronically by gavage for 21 days, on learning and memory retention of male and female prepubertal rats. Sixty male and forty-nine female prepubertal Sprague Dawley rats, 21 days old, were used in this study. Cognitive function was tested at 42 days by a step-through passive avoidance task. The results indicated that in both male and female young rats ADEs did not alter passive avoidance latency when compared with the control groups. There is no difference between the effects of the first (valproate and carbamazepine) and second generation ADEs (levetiracetam, oxcarbazepine, lamotrigine and topiramate) regarding learning and memory retention. However, valproate and levetiracetam displayed sexual dimorphism in passive avoidance tast performances. These data suggest that chronic use of both first and second generation ADEs to treat young rats practically could not cause any serious negative effects on cognitive performance.

show abstract

Beneficial effects of antiepileptic medication on absence seizures and cognitive functioning in children

Cited by 43 publications

References 20 publications

The cognitive effects of interictal epileptiform EEG discharges and short nonconvulsive epileptic seizures

The cognitive effects of interictal epileptiform EEG discharges and short nonconvulsive epileptic seizures

Levetiracetam in absence epilepsy

Effects of chronic treatment with commonly used antiepileptic drugs on passive avoidance learning in prepubertal rats

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About