Epilepsy syndromes in patients with childhood-onset seizures in Finland

Childhood-onset epilepsy is a common disorder. There is insufficient data on the distribution of epilepsy syndromes in the population and their effect on long-term prognosis. This report presents the data on epilepsy syndromes in a childhood-onset epilepsy cohort. A population-based active-prevalenc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Pediatric neurology 1999-08, Vol.21 (2), p.533-537
Main Authors: Sillanpää, Matti, Jalava, Merja, Shinnar, Shlomo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Age of Onset
Biological and medical sciences
Child
Cohort Studies
Epilepsy - classification
Epilepsy - etiology
Female
Finland
Guidelines as Topic
Headache. Facial pains. Syncopes. Epilepsia. Intracranial hypertension. Brain oedema. Cerebral palsy
Humans
Male
Medical sciences
Nervous system (semeiology, syndromes)
Neurology
Prognosis
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Description
Summary:Childhood-onset epilepsy is a common disorder. There is insufficient data on the distribution of epilepsy syndromes in the population and their effect on long-term prognosis. This report presents the data on epilepsy syndromes in a childhood-onset epilepsy cohort. A population-based active-prevalence cohort of all children under 16 years of age residing in the catchment area of Turku University Hospital with active epilepsy between 1961 and 1964 was monitored prospectively until 1992. Etiology, seizure type, and epilepsy syndromes were classified according to the recent guidelines of the International League Against Epilepsy. The etiology of seizures was idiopathic in 28%, cryptogenic in 22%, and remote symptomatic in 50%. Seizures were classifiable in 235 patients (96%) and included 157 (64%) with partial seizures and 88 (36%) with generalized seizures. Epilepsy syndromes could be classified in 223 patients (91%) and included 152 (62%) localization-related syndromes, 61 (25%) generalized epilepsy syndromes, and 10 (4%) with syndromes not determined as being focal or generalized. Prognosis for both survival and remission was dependent on etiology and on the specific epilepsy syndrome. The authors conclude that the International League Against Epilepsy guidelines can be successfully applied to a population-based cohort with childhood-onset epilepsy. Accurate classification of syndromes is important because in many cases long-term outcome may be largely determined by the underlying epilepsy syndrome.
ISSN:0887-8994
1873-5150
DOI:10.1016/S0887-8994(99)00031-4