[Assement of clumsiness in children with partial and generalized epilepsy]

Epilepsy in the developmental age is connected in some cases with disorders of gross motor dysfunction, but in the others every day motor activity is not disturbed. Although it does not mean that in children with epilepsy there are not diagnosed any different motor disorders. Aim of the study was to determined the differences between epilepsy with and without gross motor function disorders, the appearance of clumsiness in children with partial epilepsy and primary generalised.

The study was performed on a group of 40 children with idiopathic epilepsy, 23 with idiopathic partial seizures and 17 with generalised. In this group boys predominated (14/23 and 11/17). The average age of both groups was not significant different (12.5 and 13.4). The assessment of gross motor function and intellectual development was normal.

The assessment of clumsiness was performed by using 10 tests classifying 3 categories of movement: co-ordination, integration, balance. To diagnose the type of epilepsy the common used clinical, electrophisiological and neuroimaging procedures were done. The statistic assessment was performed by using T-test for independent probe.

There were no differences between groups of children in 2 test evaluating balance, which were normal. Children with generalised epilepsy had normal results in other 5 test. The lower results were observed in children with partial epilepsy in 8 and with generalised in 3 tests, but this difference was not statistically significant (VAR2/VAR1 = 0.793 and AR3/VAR1 = 0.965). Results of children with partial seizures were lower in 8 tests, but it was not statistically significant(VAR3/ VAR2 = 0.827). The most expressive difference was seen in the test of balance with jumping.

Children with partial epilepsy are a little more clumsy than children with primary generalised epilepsy.