Abstracts

To determine the frequency and characteristics of cognitive deficits in patients with Benign Rolandic Epilepsy (BRE). We studied 41 consecutive patients admitted for video-EEG monitoring who were diagnosed with BRE. A clinic generated questionnaire regarding cognitive, behavioral, and academic status was administered to the patient[apos]s caregivers. Seventeen patients were females and 24 males. Median age at the time video-EEG was performed was 8.5 years; median age at onset of seizures was 5 years. Interictal EEG was bilateral in 24 cases, localized to the left hemisphere in 10 and to the right in 7. The spike source was somehow atypical in 10 cases. Twenty-four patients were on AEDs at the time of video-EEG monitoring. Of the 41 questionnaires, 32 we completed. Cognitive deficits were found in 21 patients. These mainly included speech-language, learning and attention deficits, with most of these children receiving special education interventions. Benign Rolandic Epilepsy appears to be associated with broadly construed neurodevelopmental impairments as observed in a population of tertiary patients. Preliminary results suggest that there is a subpopulation of children with BRE who present with a higher level of neurocognitive deficits than previously suspected.