CLINICAL AND ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF IDIOPATHIC CHILDHOOD FOCAL EPILEPSY WITH CENTROTEMPORAL SPIKES

• Main Author: K. Yu. Mukhin
• Format: Article
• Language: Russian
• Published: ABV-press 2015-11-01
• Series: Russkij Žurnal Detskoj Nevrologii
• Subjects: epilepsy; idiopathic focal epilepsy; rolandic epilepsy; focal epileptic seizures; hemifacial seizures; primary generalized epileptic oropharyngeal seizures; clinical picture; electroencephalogram; diagnosis; treatment; prognosis
• Online Access: https://rjdn.abvpress.ru/jour/article/view/105

Idiopathic childhood focal epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes, which is more known as rolandic epilepsy (RE), is age- and localization-related epilepsy with childhood onset, which is characterized mainly by short-lasting hemifacial and oropharyngeal seizures generally occurring when awakening or falling asleep, by the normal neurological status of patients, by specific electroencephalographic changes and complete arrest of seizures during therapy or when achieving puberty.RE is the most common epilepsy in childhood. Its prevalence is 21 per 100,000 healthy children. It is characterized by an onset that is clearly related to age. In 85 % of cases, RE occurs at 4–10 years of age with its peak at about 9 years. The clinical manifestations of this form of epilepsy are several types of seizures, such as oropharyngolaryngeal, hemifacial, faciobrachial, secondarily generalized convulsive, unilateral seizures with the possible development of short duration Todd’s paresis. Other types of seizures (absence, atonic, and myoclonic ones) are uncharacteristic of RE. They may occur occasionally on aggravation resulting from the use of carbamazepine or oxcarbazepine or permanently on transformation into pseudo-Lennox syndrome. According to the definition, focal neurological symptoms and behavioral and intellectual disorders are absent in patients with RE. However, there have been recent observations suggesting that speech, cognitive, and behavioral disorders may occur (at the same time rarely) in children with RE. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) fails to reveal the abnormality in the vast majority of cases. The described MRI changes in nearly 10 % of the patients with RE are an incidental finding and irrelevant to the course of the disease. Valproate in small doses is a first-choice drug; if it is inefficient, levetiracetam, topiramate, or a combination of valproate and ethosuximide are administered. Sulthiame (ospolot) as monotherapy is used in Germany.Based on their findings and the data available in the literature, the authors consider the etiology, pathogenesis, clinical manifestations of RE and its diagnosis, treatment principles, and prognosis. The specific features of the electroencephalographic pattern in this disease are detailed.