Dados do Trabalho

Título

Neuropsychological assessment by non-verbal and verbal tests in children with epilepsy

Introdução

Epilepsy is a risk for cognitive impairments and low academic performance. Understanding the main neuropsychological functions affected by epilepsy and its related factors is critical for an adequate intervention and more effective results. Nevertheless, the most neuropsychological studies on pediatric epilepsy use only gross intelligence measures or some tasks of standardized tests.

Objetivo

Regarding this gap, the aims were twofold: (1) to investigate the possible implications of epilepsy and antiepileptic drugs on cognitive functions in children; (2) to compare the sensitiveness of verbal (Wechsler’s Scales) and non-verbal (SON-R) tests of intelligence to these functions.

Método

Thirty children with epilepsy, under regular follow-up treatment in Pediatric Neurological Service at University Hospital of Brasília, were evaluated by both tests: SON-R and Wechsler´s Scales. Visual motor abilities were also assessed with the Bender Visual Motor Gestalt Test.

Resultados

The main data showed lower coefficients of Freedom from Distractibility (FDI) and Processing Speed (PSQ) assessed by Wechsler Scales. No differences were found in the intellectual performance of children diagnosed with generalized epilepsy or focal epilepsy and neither between children treated with one antiepileptic drug and two or more antiepileptic drugs. However, children under Valproic Acid treatment showed poorer performance on attention and processing speed tasks. Furthermore, the significant correlations among the results of both tests pointed to advantages to the SON-R scales, because its faster application fits better the hospital needs. On the other hand, the Wechsler Scales were more sensitive to side effects of antiepileptic drugs, showing its importance to follow-up of this population.

Conclusão

Epilepsy is characterized by neuropsychological dysfunctions, which should be considered to support more subsidies for an adequate intervention and, consequently, to improve the quality of life of this population.

Palavras-chave

Neuropsychological Assessment; Pediatric epilepsy; Cognitive Functions.