Comparative study of 207 autistic patients with or without epilepsy and longitudinal electro-clinical study of epilepsy

Background The association between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and epilepsy has been described for decades and epilepsy is observed in up to 30% of ASD subjects, Rationale Our aim is to improve understanding of the... [ view full abstract ]

Background
The association between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and epilepsy has been described for decades and epilepsy is observed in up to 30% of ASD subjects,
Rationale
Our aim is to improve understanding of the biological mechanisms that underlie autism and epilepsy. This could help to devise an etiological classification of ASD that resembles the system used in the past in epilepsy.
Main points
In this comparative study, we present data about a sample of 207 ASD patients, 45 of them (21,74%) also had epilepsy.
We made an analysis of these two groups (ASD with or without epilepsy) considering: medical history, IQ, abnormal neuroimaging, genetics positivity, localization of EEG abnormalities.
Moreover, following the analysis of the clinical features of the crisis, we identified four electro-clinical entities, divided as follows: 15% benign and age related cryptogenic epilepsy (like epilepsy with centro-temporal spikes/ occipital epilepsy), 31% symptomatic epilepsy (almost all temporal epilepsy), 5% epileptic encephalopathies and 44% unclassified epilepsy. The first two groups are well definite and homogeneous.

Conclusion
This classification can help to individualise the follow-up and prognosis of different subjects. Further genetics analysis should be done on the two homogeneous groups.

No conflict of interest [ view full abstract ]

No conflict of interest