Isolated epileptiform activity in children and adolescents: prevalence, relevance, and implications for treatment

This study addresses the request from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Research Domain Criteria Proje ct (RDoC) for scientific research into neurological abnormalities that can be linked to psychiatric symptoms for the purpose of predicting medication response. One such neurological abnormality that has been the focus of many studies over the last three decades is isolated epileptiform discharges (I EDs) in children and adolescents without seizures. We conducted a systematic review of the literature to determine prevalence rates of IEDs within diagnostic categories. We then compared the prevalence of IEDs in the selected literature to our IRB-approved data archive. Our study found a consistent high prevalence of IEDs specifically for ADHD (majority >  25%) and ASD (majority >  59%), and consistent low prevalence rates were found for Depression (3%). If children and adolescents have failed multiple medication attempts, and more than one-third of them have IEDs, then an EEG would be justified within the RDoC paradigm.
Source: European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry - Category: Psychiatry Source Type: research