Abstracts

Rationale: Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)is the most commonly treated childhood psychiatric illness characterized by symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity, and affects 3-5% of school-aged children. Recommendations regarding the relative importance of electroencephalography (EEG) in ADHD are ambiguous, although in our hospital a routine EEG is done in all cases in order to identify some children with absences, rolandic spikes and other EEG abnormalities. Methods: AIM. To investigate EEG abnormalities in adolescents with ADHD. MATERIAL AND METHODS. We analysed EEG recordings in 220 subjects in Pediatria’s Service of the University Hospital Vall d’Hebron, during 2006-may 2007, newly diagnosed ADHD according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition. The ages included childs between 6-17 years. We made the EEG recording during 30 minutes, using 19 electrodes and analysed the results. They before did not take medication or during the controls from EEG Results: In our sample we found EEG abnormalities in 18.18 % (40/220). Those consists in theta-delta diffuse activity ( 8) (20%), occasional non-systemathized spikes-acute waves (2) (5%), acute waves ((temporal acute waves or spikes (5) (12.5%), occipital acute waves (3) (7.5%), frontal acute waves (1)(2.5%) and parietal acute waves (2)(5%), bilateral discharges (10( 25%,) with absence seizures in one case) and rolandic ipsi and/or bilateral spikes (9)(22.5%). Conclusions: Our study demonstrate that EEG is an useful tool , as a routine technique and could help us to improve our knowledge about pathophysiology of ADHD and perhaps lead to a better, more individual treatment.