Intelligence development in children with early-onset epilepsy with complex partial seizures

Objective. Eighty-four outpatients treated for epilepsy with complex partial seizures were followed up 18 years later. Results. Of these Patients, 35% showed stabile learning disabilities when they were first treated and also 18 years later. These Patients did not achieve a regular school qualification. Forty-eight percent suffered from a psychiatric disorder as classified by the ICD-10. Children with a pathological neurological result in the first examination showed poorer cognitive outcomes than Patients with only mild neurological impairment. Discussion. The study points to the importance of a conjoint neurological and psychiatric treatment to deal with the different impairments and corresponding developmental course of the disease.