[Treatment result and treatment resistance in early childhood petit mal epilepsy]

The data of 115 children with age-dependent epilepsy in early childhood and treated in the out-patient department of the university clinic for pediatrics in Vienna in the past 20 years were prepared for computerization and subsequently processed. The average observation period was 10,9 years (SD = 6,81 years). At the time of the study 20 out of 35 children with infantile spasms and 61 out of 80 children with myoclonic-astatic seizures were free from seizures. We consider Benzidiazepines to be the optimum treatment for both of the above-mentioned kinds of seizures. If they failed to achieve the desired success, ACTH and steroids proved to be quite effective. In cases of myoclonicastatic seizures with generalized EEG patterns, VPA is indicated. In order to be able to judge the dynamics in psychic development more effectively, we divided our patients into three groups: children with stable development, those with obvious retardation, and those with obvious positive development in the course of therapy. There was no statistically significant correlation between a delayed onset of therapy and the absence of seizures as well as a more satisfactory psychic development (according to the Man-Whitney-Test and the Kruskal-Wallis-Test). In children with infantile spasms we found a statistically significant correlation (p less than 0.05) between relief from seizures and a satisfactory psychic development. In general, the somatic and psychic prognosis of Petit-Mal epilepsies in early childhood seems to depend on pretherapeutical factors.