Cognitive impairment in childhood onset epilepsy: up-to-date information about its causes

Eun-Hee Kim, Tae-Sung Ko, Eun-Hee Kim, Tae-Sung Ko

Abstract

Cognitive impairment associated with childhood-onset epilepsy is an important consequence in the developing brain owing to its negative effects on neurodevelopmental and social outcomes. While the cause of cognitive impairment in epilepsy appears to be multifactorial, epilepsy-related factors such as type of epilepsy and underlying etiology, age at onset, frequency of seizures, duration of epilepsy, and its treatment are considered important. In recent studies, antecedent cognitive impairment before the first recognized seizure and microstructural and functional alteration of the brain at onset of epilepsy suggest the presence of a common neurobiological mechanism between epilepsy and cognitive comorbidity. However, the overall impact of cognitive comorbidity in children with epilepsy and the independent contribution of each of these factors to cognitive impairment have not been clearly delineated. This review article focuses on the significant contributors to cognitive impairment in children with epilepsy.

Keywords: Child; Cognition; Epilepsy; Seizure.

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

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