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Epilepsy in children: how to treat it from neuropediatrics

Epilepsy in children: how to treat it from neuropediatrics

Edited by: TOP DOCTORS® at 10/10/2023

Dra.. Nancy Barrera Carmona

Epilepsy is a chronic condition characterized by the presence of stereotyped, repetitive and unprovoked events. They are of type secondary to the abnormal activity of the brain. When it occurs in children under 18 years of age, it is considered to be childhood epilepsy and should be attended by a neuropediatrician , preferably.

Among the causes of infantile epilepsy are infarcts, tumors, cerebral malformations, malformations of blood vessels in the brain, several injuries caused by lack of oxygen in the perinatal stage (hypoxia) and metabolic diseases, among others. However, a high percentage of childhood epilepsy is idiopathic, ie the origin is the alteration of a specific gene that modifies brain activity. In some cases it is not feasible to determine the specific cause of epilepsy.

Most Common Symptoms of Epilepsy in Children

Crises occur with or without loss of consciousness, and symptoms may be motor (involuntary movements of any part of the body), altered tone (increase or decrease), visual, auditory, sensory (tingling, , Abnormal sensations), psychological alterations (mood swings, fear without reason) and, sometimes, alterations in behavior, as well as the development of language and learning.

Diagnosis of childhood epilepsy

The study considered as a gold standard is the video-electroencephalogram (V-EEG), however, an electroencephalogram can also establish the diagnosis , since in this method of diagnosis the electrical activity of different regions of the brain is recorded, Which is feasible for detecting the discharge area. A normal V-EEG does not rule out epilepsy, in which case the clinical (patient's symptoms, number of events or injuries) can establish the diagnosis .

More effective treatment

Treatment , in 100% of cases, consists of the use of anti-epileptics and drugs that are designed to act on different receptor neurons to stop abnormal activity. To these can be added a specialized diet such as the ketogenic diet (selected cases) or even required epilepsy surgery.

The cure of childhood epilepsy depends largely on the cause, if there is a metabolic or structural disease the possibility of cure is minor, in which case it may be controllable with antiepileptics. In the case of idiopathic epilepsies the possibility of cure after 3-5 years of treatment is more feasible.

Neurology in Miguel Hidalgo