Abstract
Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder that frequently co-occurs with epilepsy.
Dravet syndrome is a severe epileptic encephalopathy associated with psychomotor developmental
delay. Autism in Dravet syndrome, however, has rarely been studied. In this study,
the prevalence and features of autism in patients with Dravet syndrome, their potential
association with mental retardation, and the clinical characteristics of epilepsy
were investigated. Clinical data of 37 patients with Dravet syndrome were collected,
and evaluations of autism and mental retardation were performed. Nine patients (24.3%)
met the criteria for autism. All patients with autism showed speech delay, no emotional
reciprocity, and narrow interests, whereas 89.3, 46.4, and 39.9% of patients without
autism had speech delay, short temper, and narrow interests, respectively. Mental
retardation was observed in 94.6% of patients with Dravet syndrome, with more frequent
severe or profound mental retardation in those with autism. The clinical features
of epilepsy did not statistically differ between the patients with autism and the
patients without autism.
Research highlights
- The prevalence and features of autism in patients with Dravet syndrome are assessed.
- The majority of patients with Dravet syndrome exhibit some symptoms of autistic spectrum disorder.
- Patients with Dravet syndrome with autism exhibit more severe mental retardation.
- This is the first clinical study demonstrating autism in Dravet syndrome.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
April 21,
2011
Received in revised form:
April 20,
2011
Received:
January 22,
2011
Identification
Copyright
© 2011 Elsevier Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
