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

STS Instructor Authored by Robert Turner

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Check out this Knowledge Base article from StressTherapy Solutions: Isolated epileptiform activity in children and adolescents: prevalence, relevance, and implications for treatment.

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Study at a glance

Area
Epilepsy & Seizures
Study type
Review & meta-analysis
Authors
Swatzyna RJ, Arns M, Tarnow JD, Turner RP, Barr E, MacInerney EK, Hoffman AM, Boutros NN
Journal
European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
Year
2020
Population
Children, Adolescents

Key findings

  • Systematic review of the prevalence of isolated epileptiform discharges by diagnosis, checked against a clinical data archive
  • Most studies found these discharges in more than 25% of young people with ADHD
  • Most studies found them in more than 59% of young people with autism; depression rates were about 3%
  • Recommends EEG for children and adolescents who have not responded to multiple medications

DOI 10.1007/s00787-020-01597-2 → PubMed 32666203 →

Psychiatric diagnosis and medication choice usually rest on reported symptoms rather than on any direct look at the brain. This systematic review gathered studies on how often isolated epileptiform discharges (seizure-like EEG spikes in young people who have never had a seizure) appear in different psychiatric diagnoses, and compared those rates with the authors' own clinical EEG archive. Rates were consistently high in ADHD and autism and low in depression, and the authors argue that an EEG is justified for young patients who have failed several medications.