Childhood epilepsy with a small number of seizures may be left untreated: an international prospective study.

It is unknown whether treatment with antiepileptic drugs in children with epilepsy with a presumed good prognosis is always necessary. We aimed to study the course of newly diagnosed epilepsy in children with a presumed good prognosis who are managed without AED treatment. A total of 151 children (one month to 12 years of age) with two to five lifetime unprovoked seizures (excluding febrile convulsions), were followed for three years.

Onset of intractability and its course over time: the Dutch study of epilepsy in childhood.

Purpose: Intractability in epilepsy is difficult to define, and little is known about its onset, course, and duration. We investigated these aspects (as well as the occurrence of intractability) during long-term follow-up in patients with epilepsy, focusing on possible explanations for the variation in time of onset and duration of intractability.

Methods: After diagnosis, 453 patients with childhood-onset epilepsy had a 5-year follow-up with regular visits and data collection.

Health perception and socioeconomic status following childhood-onset epilepsy: the Dutch study of epilepsy in childhood.

Purpose: Epilepsy may have far-reaching consequences for patients, other than having seizures and medication. At 15 years after diagnosis, this study investigates health perception, restrictions due to epilepsy, living arrangements (including marital status and offspring), and the educational and occupational attainment of patients with childhood-onset epilepsy.

Methods: A total of 453 patients with epilepsy had a 5-year follow-up since diagnosis with regular visits and data collection.

Course and outcome of childhood epilepsy: a 15-year follow-up of the Dutch Study of Epilepsy in Childhood.

Purpose: To study the course and outcome of childhood-onset epilepsy during 15-year follow-up (FU).

Methods: We extended FU in 413 of 494 children with new-onset epilepsy recruited in a previously described prospective hospital-based study by questionnaire.

Results: Mean FU was 14.

Interobserver reliability of visual interpretation of electroencephalograms in children with newly diagnosed seizures.

The reliability of visual interpretation of electroencephalograms (EEG) is of great importance in assessing the value of this diagnostic tool. We prospectively obtained 50 standard EEGs and 61 EEGs after partial sleep deprivation from 93 children (56 males, 37 females) with a mean age of 6 years 10 months (SE 5 mo; range 4 mo-15 y 7 mo) with one or more newly diagnosed, unprovoked seizures. Two clinical neurophysiologists independently classified the background pattern and the presence of epileptiform discharges or focal non-epileptiform abnormalities of each EEG.