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Interictal High Frequency Oscillations Detected with Simultaneous Magnetoencephalography and Electroencephalography as Biomarker of Pediatric Epilepsy
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Interictal High Frequency Oscillations Detected with Simultaneous Magnetoencephalography and Electroencephalography as Biomarker of Pediatric Epilepsy

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Increased prevalence of epilepsy associated with severe falciparum malaria in children

Julie A Carter1, Brian G R Neville, Steven White

  • 1Neurosciences Unit, Institute of Child Health, The Wolfson Centre, London, United Kingdom. j.carter@ich.ucl.ac.uk

Epilepsia
|July 24, 2004
PubMed

Insights

Children with a history of severe malaria, including cerebral malaria or complicated seizures, have a higher risk of developing epilepsy. This study quantifies the increased prevalence of epilepsy in these pediatric populations.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric neurology
  • Infectious diseases
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Seizures are common in severe malaria, potentially leading to epilepsy.
  • The link between falciparum malaria and epilepsy requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the prevalence and characteristics of epilepsy in children with a history of severe malaria.
  • To compare epilepsy rates between children with cerebral malaria, malaria with complicated seizures, and unexposed children.

Main Methods:

  • Epilepsy history was obtained from parents of 487 children (aged 6-9 years).
  • Children were categorized into cerebral malaria (CM), malaria/complicated seizures (M/S), or unexposed groups.
  • Electroencephalogram (EEG) was performed, and epilepsy status (active, inactive, none) was determined.

Main Results:

  • Epilepsy prevalence was higher in children with prior CM (9.2%) and M/S (11.5%) compared to unexposed (2.2%).
  • Tonic-clonic seizures were most common, followed by focal to bilateral tonic-clonic seizures.
  • EEG abnormalities were present in 26% of active epilepsy cases at initial assessment.

Conclusions:

  • Children with CM or M/S show an increased risk of epilepsy.
  • Epilepsy prevalence linked to CM is comparable to other severe encephalopathies.
  • Epilepsy prevalence associated with M/S is more than double that of complicated febrile seizures.
Abstract

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