Mental disorders in child epilepsy

Abstract

Introduction. Epilepsy is a chronic condition characterized by the presence of recurrent paroxysmal brain seizures (epileptic seizures), as a result of an excessive discharge of neurons. The prevalence of mental disorders in epilepsy is of 30-40%, and those of psychoses of 1-3%, being higher in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy. Psychoses and personality disorders are 3 times more frequent in those with temporal lobe seizures. Among the mental disorders in child epilepsy we care to mention: cognitive impairment, behavior disorders with aggressiveness and psychomotor agitation, learning disorders, depression, anxiety. Material and methods. There have been evaluated 24 children with epilepsy, admitted in 2014 in the Clinic of Pediatric Neurology and Psychiatry Tg-Mures, with ages between 12 and 18. There have been applied Raven's Matrices, various scales for depression and anxiety (MASC, Hamilton, Beck, Bender). The diagnosis of mental disorders has been established based on the criteria DSM-V and ICD 10. Results. The prevalence of mental disorders in child epilepsy was of 12%, with the highest incidence in the group age between 10 and 12. These mental disorders have been: cognitive disorders (79%), behavior disorders (37,5%), disharmonic personality developments (33%), anxiety (20,8%), psychosis (8,3%), depression (4,2%). Discussions. Child epilepsy evolves having a high risk for the occurrence of cognitive impairment, behavior disorders, language or mood disorders all the more so as the underlying structural disorders are higher. The early onset of the epileptic seizures under the age of 3, in a child with a psychic under development represents a vulnerability factor. Patients with temporal lobe epilepsy present a risk for psychoses, also 1/3 of the epileptics develop personality disorders. Conclusions. The onset of epileptic seizures under the age of 3 constitutes a risk factor for the occurrence of language disorders, cognitive or behavior disorders. The prognostic in mental disorders in the epileptic child is influenced by the underlying structural brain anomalies responsible for the occurrence of epileptic seizures.