J Clin Neurol.  2018 Oct;14(4):523-529. 10.3988/jcn.2018.14.4.523.

Effects of Antiepileptic Drugs on Language Abilities in Benign Epilepsy of Childhood with Centrotemporal Spikes

• Han MJ
• Kim SJ

• KMID: 2424181
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3988/jcn.2018.14.4.523

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
This study is to assess the responsiveness of electroencephalography (EEG) abnormalities and their effects on language ability after initiating different types of antiepileptic therapy in children with newly diagnosed benign epilepsy of childhood with centrotemporal spikes (BECTS).
METHODS
The records of patients newly diagnosed with BECTS (n=120; 69 males) were reviewed retrospectively. The patients were randomly treated with lamotrigine, oxcarbazepine, or topiramate monotherapy, and underwent at least two EEG and standardized language tests. Effects were compared using Pearson's chi-square tests and paired t-tests.
RESULTS
The recurrence rates for seizures in the lamotrigine, topiramate, and oxcarbazepine groups were 19.4%, 21.7%, and 11.4%, respectively, while complete or partial recovery (as indicated by EEG) occurred in 32%, 39%, and 16% of the patients. Patients in the lamotrigine group showed significant improvements in all parameters assessed by the Test of Language Problem Solving Abilities, except for "˜determining cause.' Patients in the oxcarbazepine group also showed improvements, except for "˜making inferences' (p < 0.05). Most linguistic index scores were worse in the topiramate group except for Mean Length of Utterance in Words. Patients in the lamotrigine and oxcarbazepine groups showed significant improvements in the receptive language test (p < 0.05). EEG improvements were not related to language ability.
CONCLUSIONS
The improvements in language and problem-solving performance in children with BECTS were greater for lamotrigine and oxcarbazepine than for topiramate. However, EEG remission did not imply that language function would be improved after the treatments.

Keyword

benign epilepsy of childhood with centrotemporal spikes; epilepsy; lamotrigine; oxcarbazepine; topiramate

MeSH Terms

Anticonvulsants*
Child
Electroencephalography
Epilepsy
Epilepsy, Rolandic*
Humans
Language Tests
Language*
Linguistics
Problem Solving
Recurrence
Retrospective Studies
Seizures
Anticonvulsants

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 Change in TOPS score between before and after taking an antiepileptic medication. TOPS: Test of Language Problem Solving Abilities.

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