Cognitive impairment in children with childhood absence epilepsy (review)

Abstract

The review is devoted to common epilepsy of childhood — childhood absence epilepsy. This epileptic syndrome debuts at pre-school age and is characterized by frequent seizures which may be underestimated by doctors due to the clinical features of a seizure. The seizures can debilitate a child and restrict socialization, as specific comorbidities in cognitive field are very common for child absence epilepsy. The etiology of neropsychiatric comorbidities is different. Seizures, epileptic discharges, as well as interictal epileptiform activity in the brain may cause neuropsychological impairments in children. Antiepileptic drugs are important in the development of neuropsychological impairments. The aim of this review was to actualize information on childhood absence epilepsy and stress the necessity to pay practitioner’s attention to common comorbidities in cognitive field.