Epilepsy in Children with Cerebral Palsy

Epilepsy occurs in 12 % to 90 % of children with cerebral palsy (CP). However its clinical course is not well defined. This investigation was undertaken to study and determine the characteristics and prevalence of epilepsy in children with cerebral palsy.

Materials & Methods

Of 133 children with cerebral palsy, seen between 1998 and 2001, in the pediatric neurology clinic of the Imam Reza hospital, fifty-three had epilepsy.

During the same period, a group of 70 epileptic children with normal neurodevelopmental status was studied as the controls.

Results

Patients with spastic quadriplegia were the most commonly affected with epilepsy. When compared with the control group, children with CP had a higher incidence of epilepsy with onset within the first year of age (52.8% vs. 18.5%), history of neonatal seizures (20.7% vs. 4.2%), and poly therapy (73.6% vs. 29.1%) respectively.

Conclusion

Epilepsy is common in children with CP and can be predicted if seizures occur in the first year of life ,in the neonatal period and based on the need for polytherapy.