[Epileptic seizures in the vascular malformations in children]

Cerebral vascular anomalies have been rare pathology of the brain in childhood. The most frequent clinical symptoms of them are: intracerebral hemorrhage, subarachnoid hemorrhage, headache, neurological deficits and epilepsy.

Because of very few reports about epilepsy in cerebral vascular anomalies in children the authors continued studies in this subject.

The subject of the study were 20 patients in the age between 5 to 15 years with cerebral vascular anomalies hospitalized in the Department of Developmental Neurology Medical University of Gdansk in the years 1980-2001. The clinical state and CT, MRI, angiography and EEG recordings were evaluated in all the patients. Arteriovenous malformations (AVM) were diagnosed in 13 (65%), in 5--angioma cavernous (25%), in 2--aneurysms (10%).

In 4 children epilepsy was the first symptom of cerebrovascular anomalies. Epileptic seizures were observed in 4 patients in the acute stage of the disease. In 6 children epilepsy was the consequence of arteriovenous malformation.

Epilepsy occurred in 50% of children with vascular malformations. Among cerebrovascular anomalies, arteriovenous malformations are the most frequent cause of epilepsy in the group of examined children.