The Japanese Journal of Psychiatry and Neurology, Vol. 46, No. 2, 1992
Long-Term Clinicoelectroencephalographic Evolution of Childhood Absence Epilepsy Tamiko Negoro, M.D., Kazuyoshi Watanabe, M.D., Norihide Maeda, M.D., Masao Kito, M.D., Yoshiko Haga, M.D. and Kosaburo Aso, M.D. Department of Pediatrics, Nagoya University School of Medicine, Nagoya
INTRODUCTION Childhood absence epilepsy is an epileptic syndrome of children characterized by frequent absence seizures and typical EEG findings. Absence seizures also occur in other forms of epilepsy. A survey of the literature shows that a major difficulty arises in distinguishing childhood absence epilepsy from other epilepsies with absence seizures. In the present paper, the following three aspects are discussed: 1. seizure prognosis and EEG evolution of childhood epilepsies with absence seizures, 2. longterm clinical course of childhood absence epilepsy, and 3. transverse topographical analysis of absence seizures and its predictive value. SEIZURE PROGNOSIS AND THE EVOLUTION OF EEG IN CHILDHOOD EPILEPSIES WITH ABSENCE SEIZURES In 1985, Dieterich ef d.' divided childhood epilepsy with absences into two groups; I: epilepsy with absences at onset and 11: absence epilepsy with initial grand mal, and reported that the prognosis of absence epilepsy starting with grand ma1 Mailing address: Tamiko Negoro, M.D., Department of Pediatrics, Nagoya University School of Medicine, 65 Tsuruma-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya 466, Japan.
was unfavorable compared to epilepsy starting with absences. In our study also, 58 cases of childhood epilepsy with absence seizures were divided into two groups; group A (43 cases): absence seizures at onset and group B (15 cases): generalized tonic-clonic seizures (GTC) at onset.3 During the follow-up period of at least 5 years, in group A, 38 patients (88.4%) became seizure-free, 3 (7.0%) still had absence seizures, and 2 (4.6%) developed GTC. In group B, only 8 patients (53.4%) were seizure-free, 2 (13.3%) had absence seizures, and 5 (33.3%) had GTC (Table 1, p
Long-Term Clinicoelectroencephalographic Evolution of Childhood Absence Epilepsy Tamiko Negoro, M.D., Kazuyoshi Watanabe, M.D., Norihide Maeda, M.D., Masao Kito, M.D., Yoshiko Haga, M.D. and Kosaburo Aso, M.D. Department of Pediatrics, Nagoya University School of Medicine, Nagoya
INTRODUCTION Childhood absence epilepsy is an epileptic syndrome of children characterized by frequent absence seizures and typical EEG findings. Absence seizures also occur in other forms of epilepsy. A survey of the literature shows that a major difficulty arises in distinguishing childhood absence epilepsy from other epilepsies with absence seizures. In the present paper, the following three aspects are discussed: 1. seizure prognosis and EEG evolution of childhood epilepsies with absence seizures, 2. longterm clinical course of childhood absence epilepsy, and 3. transverse topographical analysis of absence seizures and its predictive value. SEIZURE PROGNOSIS AND THE EVOLUTION OF EEG IN CHILDHOOD EPILEPSIES WITH ABSENCE SEIZURES In 1985, Dieterich ef d.' divided childhood epilepsy with absences into two groups; I: epilepsy with absences at onset and 11: absence epilepsy with initial grand mal, and reported that the prognosis of absence epilepsy starting with grand ma1 Mailing address: Tamiko Negoro, M.D., Department of Pediatrics, Nagoya University School of Medicine, 65 Tsuruma-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya 466, Japan.
was unfavorable compared to epilepsy starting with absences. In our study also, 58 cases of childhood epilepsy with absence seizures were divided into two groups; group A (43 cases): absence seizures at onset and group B (15 cases): generalized tonic-clonic seizures (GTC) at onset.3 During the follow-up period of at least 5 years, in group A, 38 patients (88.4%) became seizure-free, 3 (7.0%) still had absence seizures, and 2 (4.6%) developed GTC. In group B, only 8 patients (53.4%) were seizure-free, 2 (13.3%) had absence seizures, and 5 (33.3%) had GTC (Table 1, p
