Related Experiment Videos
[Interference of anticonvulsants in the rehabilitation treatment]
C Pisaturo1, S Frasconi, A Borreani
1Divsione e Cattedra di Neuropsichiatria Infantile, Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Genova.
Insights
Anticonvulsant drugs, commonly used for epilepsy, did not significantly impact the effectiveness of physical therapy in young children. This study suggests that these medications may not interfere with pediatric physical therapy outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Neurology
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Rehabilitation Medicine
Context:
- Anticonvulsant drugs can have neuropsychiatric side effects.
- These effects may influence neurological and psychological functions.
- This can potentially affect a child's learning during physical therapy.
Purpose:
- To investigate if anticonvulsant medications affect physical therapy outcomes in children.
- To assess the impact of anticonvulsants on psycho-perceptuo-motor learning during therapy.
- To compare outcomes between children receiving physical therapy with or without anticonvulsants.
Summary:
- A case series of 30 children (aged 20-23 months) was conducted over 4 years.
- Groups included physical therapy + anticonvulsants, physical therapy alone, and anticonvulsants alone.
- No significant differences in neuropsychological tests, muscle trophism, or muscle tonus changes were observed between groups.
Impact:
- Findings suggest anticonvulsant therapy may not interfere with physical therapy efficacy in children.
- Results contrast with some recent studies, warranting further investigation.
- Limited patient numbers necessitate caution in generalizing findings; larger studies are needed.
Abstract:
Aim of this study is to investigate whether the adverse neuropsychiatric effects of anticonvulsant drugs can affect the results of physical therapy. The influence of these drugs on neurological and/or psychological functions is considered an important factor in conditioning the active psycho-perceptuo-motor learning of child during physical therapy. Our case series included 30 children aged 4; 20 to 23 months. Ten (6 males; 4 females) received both physical therapy and anticonvulsants (generally single-drug therapy) (first group). Ten (3 males; 7 females) received only physical therapy (second group). The third group (5 males; 5 females) received only anticonvulsant drugs. All children were followed up for 4 years. Not significant differences in any of the scores obtained with standard and neuropsychological tests were found between the 3 groups. No significant change of muscle trophism was found between the 3 groups. The changes of tonus, found in the first two groups, were not significantly different, for these groups. Our findings seem to disagree from those reported by the most recent studies and suggest that anticonvulsant therapy doesn't interfere with the efficacy of physical therapy. However, our data cannot be generalized due to limited number of patients included in our series and further studies are needed.