Highlights
- •Cognitive disorders are common in patients with epilepsy.
- •In patients with JME, especially frontal lobe functions are affected.
- •Interictal EEG findings may be related to cognition.
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigated the relationship between frontal lobe cognitive function and
frontal focal electroencephalography (EEG) findings in patients with juvenile myoclonic
epilepsy (JME).
Methods
The study enrolled 60 patients diagnosed with JME and followed at the Epilepsy Outpatient
Clinic of the University of Health Sciences, Bakırkoy Psychiatric Hospital, and 30
healthy volunteers. Demographic and clinical features were recorded. Frontal lobe
cognitive functions were tested in both groups. Video-EEG recordings of patients with
JME were evaluated. The presence and duration of generalized discharges, the presence
and lateralization of focal findings, and the presence of generalized discharges during
hyperventilation and photic stimulation were recorded during EEG. Cognitive function
test results were compared between the two groups, and the relationship between the
EEG findings and cognitive function was investigated.
Results
The study included 35 (58.3%) female and 25 (41.6%) male patients and 17 (56.7%) female
and 13 (43.3%) male healthy controls. The mean ages of the group with JME and controls
were 28.3 ± 8.6 (16–50) and 31.3 ± 7.9 (17–45) years, respectively. Patients with
JME performed more poorly on the frontal lobe cognitive tests than controls (p < 0.05). Patients whose generalized discharges were longer than 1 s performed more
poorly on tests evaluating attention and made more perseverative errors (p < 0.05). There was no significant correlation between the presence of focal EEG findings
and the scores on frontal lobe cognitive functions tests in the group with JME (p > 0.05).
Conclusion
Frontal lobe cognitive functions are affected in patients with JME. The cognitive
effects were more pronounced in patients with prolonged generalized discharges on
EEG.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: July 20, 2020
Accepted:
June 17,
2020
Received in revised form:
June 17,
2020
Received:
April 5,
2020
Identification
Copyright
© 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
