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Speech evoked auditory brainstem response findings in children with epilepsy
Rasha Hamdi Elkabariti1, Lobna Hamed Khalil1, Rasha Husein2
1Department of Otolaryngology, Audiology Unit, Ain Shams University, Egypt.
Insights
Speech-evoked auditory brainstem response (ABR) reveals delayed brainstem responses in children with epilepsy, indicating abnormal neural encoding. This method detects brainstem abnormalities missed by conventional click ABR.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Audiology
- Pediatric Neurology
Background:
- Children with epilepsy face significant risks of cognitive impairment and academic difficulties.
- Previous research focused on cortical responses, but recent studies highlight brainstem abnormalities in speech processing using auditory brainstem response (ABR).
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate speech-evoked ABR findings in children recently diagnosed with epilepsy.
- To determine if speech-evoked ABR can detect brainstem abnormalities in this population.
Main Methods:
- A study group of 38 recently diagnosed, untreated epileptic children was compared to 38 age- and gender-matched healthy controls.
- Standard audiological evaluations were performed, followed by click ABR and speech-evoked ABR recordings from both ears.
Main Results:
- While click ABR results were normal, speech-evoked ABR showed delayed wave V and A latencies in epileptic children.
- These delays indicate abnormal neural encoding of speech at the brainstem level.
- Younger epileptic children exhibited more prolonged wave A latency and increased V/A inter-latency values.
Conclusions:
- Speech-evoked ABR demonstrates abnormal brainstem timing in children with epilepsy.
- This technique is more sensitive than conventional click ABR for detecting subclinical brainstem abnormalities in epileptic children.
Objectives:
Children with epilepsy are at a considerable risk of cognitive impairment and school failure. Previous studies have typically documented abnormal responses in children with epilepsy at cortical level using speech stimuli. Recent studies reported that abnormal neural encoding of a speech syllable could be detected at the level of the brainstem using speech-evoked auditory brainstem response (ABR). The aim of this study is to investigate speech-evoked (ABR) results in children with epilepsy.
Methods:
The study group consisted of 38 recently diagnosed epileptic children; none of them has received antiepileptic therapy. They were 22 males and 16 females with age 9.1 ± 3.1 years. The control group consisted of 38 healthy normal hearing children with matched age and gender distribution. All subjects underwent full history taking, basic audiologic evaluation including pure-tone, speech audiometry and immittance testing. Click ABR response was recorded monaurally from both ears at 90 dB nHL then speech ABR was recorded monaurally from each ear at 80 dB SPL.
Results:
Though the study group disclosed normal click ABR compared to age matched normative values, speech-evoked ABR revealed a delayed waves V and A latencies in both ears. These findings reflect abnormal neural encoding of speech at the level of brainstem. The younger the age of epileptic child the more prolonged wave A latency and increased V/A inter-latency values.
Conclusions:
Speech-evoked ABR results denote abnormal timing in the brainstem; such brainstem abnormality could be detected by speech evoked ABR rather than conventional click evoked ABR.
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