The cognitive phenotype of idiopathic generalized epilepsy

We describe the neuropsychological profile of a group of patients with different syndromes of IGE including simultaneous video electroencephalography (EEG).MethodsWe performed a comprehensive cognitive and neuropsychiatric evaluation with video-EEG on 61 adults with IGE (JME 19; IGE with generalized tonic–clonic seizures [GTCS] alone [IGE-GTCS] 22; childhood absence epilepsy [CAE] or juvenile absences epilepsy [JAE] persisting in adulthood 20). We compared results between patients (globally and by syndrome) and a control group of 21 individuals (similar age, educational level); p-values were adjusted for multiple testing according to a 0.05 false discovery rate.ResultsPatients obtained significantly lower results than controls on visuospatial working memory, processing speed, cognitive flexibility and strategy, abstract visuospatial reasoning, arithmetic, and acquired knowledge. While CAE/JAE showed the lowest scores on cognitive assessment and highest anxiety index, IGE-GTCS showed the most favorable scores. Most tests were not influenced by valproate intake, and the dose did not correlate with cognitive performance in the test that yielded differences between patients and controls. Epileptic discharges during assessment were not frequent (10 patients, 1–4 tests).SignificanceOur findings suggest that patients with IGE have significantly lower abilities in various executive functions and acquired knowledge, compared to population of same age and education. The low frequen...
Source: Epilepsy and Behavior - Category: Neurology Source Type: research