Related Experiment Videos
Clinical features of intractable epilepsy in Japanese children
T Kurokawa1, K Akazawa, S Tomita
1Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
Insights
Refractory epilepsy in Japanese children often begins in infancy, with developmental delays and frequent seizures. These patients experienced more side effects from antiepileptic drugs.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Neurology
- Clinical Epilepsy Research
Background:
- Refractory epilepsy presents significant challenges in pediatric populations.
- Understanding the distinct clinical features of refractory epilepsy is crucial for effective management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the clinical characteristics of refractory epilepsy in Japanese children with a control group.
- To identify factors associated with refractory epilepsy and treatment outcomes.
Main Methods:
- A comparative study involving 135 children with refractory epilepsy and 103 controls.
- Analysis of clinical features, including age of onset, family history, developmental status, seizure frequency, epilepsy type, and EEG findings.
Main Results:
- Refractory epilepsy was associated with early onset (first year of life), absence of family history, pre-existing developmental delay, phakomatoses, frequent seizures, and initial EEG abnormalities.
- Patients with refractory epilepsy showed a higher incidence of epilepsy type changes, lack of EEG improvement, and mental deterioration during follow-up.
- Increased medication use and administration of newer antiepileptic drugs were common; side effects like gum hypertrophy and drowsiness were more frequent.
Conclusions:
- Specific clinical features at onset and during follow-up can predict refractory epilepsy in children.
- Early identification of these features may guide treatment strategies and improve outcomes for pediatric epilepsy patients.
Abstract:
The clinical features of refractory epilepsy were studied in comparison between 135 patients in a refractory group and 103 in a controlled group. All the children were Japanese. The clinical features of the refractory group were the onset of epilepsy during the first year of life, absence of family history, retarded development before the onset, phakomatoses, daily or weekly seizures, secondarily generalized epilepsy, and marked EEG abnormalities at the initial visit, a change of types in epilepsy, no improvement in EEG findings, mental deterioration or severe retardation during the follow-up. The number of drugs was increased and relatively new drugs such as carbamazepine, valproic acid or clonazepam were frequently administered. The side effects, including gum hypertrophy, drowsiness, hypertrichosis, ataxia or increased serum-GTP, were more frequent in the refractory group.