Factors Associated With Epilepsy in Children With Periventricular Leukomalacia

Abstract

Children with cerebral palsy associated with periventricular leukomalacia frequently develop unprovoked epileptic seizures. This article reports an analysis of risk factors for epilepsy in children with radiologically confirmed periventricular leukomalacia. This cohort was screened for epilepsy and for an array of clinical and demographic factors. Of 154 subjects with radiologically confirmed periventricular leukomalacia, 40 (26.0%) had epilepsy. In the epileptic group, radiologic pathology other than periventricular leukomalacia was uncommon. Significant associations were found between epilepsy and cerebral palsy patterns other than spastic diparesis, mental handicap, cortical visual impairment, neonatal seizures, and severe periventricular leukomalacia. Only the presence of neonatal seizures was significantly associated with epilepsy once other risk factors were controlled in the regression model. Some previous studies have shown an association between neonatal seizures and later epilepsy for cerebral palsy in general. This is the first report of such an association for a single predominant type of cerebral pathology.

The whole spectrum of cystic periventricular leukomalacia of the preterm infant: results from a large consecutive case series

“…One factor influencing outcome might be the presence of associated haemorrhages. Our rate of seizure disorders developing after the neonatal period is completely comparable to other reports [11].…”

Epilepsy in Tanzanian children: Association with perinatal events and other risk factors

“…The severity of the brain insults seems to be similar to those reported in HICs, with a high prevalence of HIE and very high prevalence of cognitive impairment. In HICs, studies have shown an increased risk of developing epilepsy with both HIE (Bergamasco et al., 1984) and periventricular leukomalacia (Humphreys et al., 2007). Nine patients with adverse perinatal events had cerebral palsy, although the type of motor disorder did not necessarily conform to that expected from the insult (Stanley et al., 2000).…”

Epileptic Encephalopathy With Continuous Spike and Wave During Sleep Associated to Periventricular Leukomalacia

“…Moreover, the spike index was more than 85% in 8 of these children and was associated with cognitive, behavioral, or motor worsening leading to a diagnosis of continuous spike-waves during slow sleep syndrome. Although some authors investigated the type and frequency of epilepsy in periventricular leukomalacia patients, 2,19 to our knowledge ours is the first study clearly outlining the frequency and characteristics of continuous spike-waves during slow sleep syndrome in this patient subgroup. Continuous spike-waves during slow sleep syndrome represented a significant complication in children with periventricular leukomalacia, involving 6% of patients with this neuroradiologic picture and up to 19% of patients with associated epilepsy.…”