Fine motor skills in children with rolandic epilepsy
Muhammed Ayaz1, Bülent Kara, Nusret Soylu
1Sakarya University Training and Research Hospital, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Outpatient Clinic, Sakarya, Turkey.
Insights
Children with rolandic epilepsy (RE) exhibit impaired fine motor skills, independent of intelligence. This impacts Purdue Pegboard Test performance in dominant hand, both hands, and assembly tasks.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Neurology
- Developmental Neuroscience
- Epileptology
Background:
- Rolandic epilepsy (RE) is a common childhood epilepsy syndrome.
- Fine motor skill deficits are increasingly recognized in various neurological conditions.
- The impact of RE on fine motor skills, independent of cognitive function, requires further elucidation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate fine motor skills in children diagnosed with typical rolandic epilepsy.
- To compare the fine motor performance of children with RE to age, gender, and education-matched controls.
- To determine if intelligence influences the relationship between RE and fine motor skills.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of 44 children with typical rolandic epilepsy and 44 healthy controls participated.
- Fine motor skills were assessed using the Purdue Pegboard Test (PPT).
- Intelligence was measured using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC).
Main Results:
- Children with rolandic epilepsy demonstrated significantly poorer performance on the PPT dominant hand, both hands, and assembly subtests compared to controls.
- These deficits persisted even after controlling for intelligence.
- Factors such as epileptic focus, treatment status, seizure history, and age at onset did not correlate with motor skill deficits.
Conclusions:
- Rolandic epilepsy is associated with a negative impact on fine motor skills in children.
- The observed fine motor skill impairment is independent of the child's intellectual level.
- These findings highlight the importance of assessing and addressing fine motor development in children with RE.
Abstract:
This study aimed to evaluate fine motor skills in children with rolandic epilepsy (RE). The research included 44 children diagnosed with typical RE and 44 controls matched in terms of age, gender, and level of education. Fine motor skills were evaluated with the Purdue Pegboard Test, and intelligence was measured with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children. After controlling for the effect of intelligence on fine motor skills, the results showed that the children with RE did not perform as well as the controls in the PPT dominant hand, both hands, and assembly subtests. Epileptic focus, treatment status, type of antiepileptic treatment, age at the time of the first seizure, time since the last seizure, and total number of seizures did not affect motor skills. Rolandic epilepsy negatively affected fine motor skills regardless of the children's level of intelligence.
