10.3 Types of seizures

All types of epileptic seizures can be seen in patients with CP. Focal impaired awareness (complex partial) and focal to generalized tonic-clonic are the most

focal impaired awareness (complex partial), 7.1% focal aware (simple partial), 5.4% myoclonic, and 1.8% experience atonic seizures [30]. This finding is in line with the literature review [31]. Figure 2 and Table 3 show epileptic syndromes and types of

EEG is essential in the work-up of children with CP and suspected seizures. It can lend support to the diagnosis of epilepsy and assist in seizure/epilepsy classification to better guide the choice of antiseizure drugs. However, there is no clinical value of performing EEG testing in children with no suggestion of seizure activity

The rate of EEG abnormalities observed in patients with CP and epilepsy is in

All of the subgroups of spastic CP had a greater than 70% incidence of abnormal EEGs. Whereas in quadriplegic and diplegic CP, the EEG shows predominant bilateral epileptic activity; about half of children with hemiplegia had focal findings. In a study of children with CP and epilepsy, only 7.9% of children had normal interictal

There was a correlation between brain CT scan and EEG findings; children with

Children with CP and epilepsy appear to have abnormal brain imaging more often. It is not surprising that a trend toward the occurrence of epilepsy was found in children with gray matter insult (primarily cerebral infarcts), rather than in children with white matter lesions. In addition, cerebral atrophy was also reported more frequently in CP complicated by epilepsy [31], reaching statistical significance in the study of Gururaj et al. [40]. A possible explanation for the association of

bilateral brain abnormalities on their CT scan imaging often had bilateral and generalized epileptiform abnormalities on their EEGs. However, one-fourth of these children had a focal epileptiform abnormality with rapid bilateral synchrony. On the other hand, 35.3% of children with unilateral structural brain abnormalities on their CT scans had focal epileptiform abnormalities in their EEG recordings; the EEG findings were concordant with the CT scan findings in all patients [11].

10.5 Neuroimaging in cerebral palsy with epilepsy

by history, and EEG testing is not useful in establishing the cause of CP.

seizures in subtypes of CP in children with cerebral palsy.

10.4 Electroencephalogram (EEG)

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.82804

Epilepsy and Cerebral Palsy

the range of 66–92.6% [4, 11, 31].

EEGs [Table 4] [4].

Table 4.

61

EEG abnormality and type of CP.

Figure 2. Epileptic syndromes in 41 children with cerebral palsy.


### Table 3.

Types of seizures in subtypes of CP [11].

frequent seizure types. Some syndromes, such as infantile spasms, West, and Lennox-Gastaut syndromes, are particularly frequent.

Generalized epilepsy is the predominant form of epilepsy in CP. Generalized seizures have been reported in 36.8%, followed by focal (partial) seizures in 33%, West syndrome in 15.6%, and myoclonic jerks in 10.6%. Absence seizures are usually of the atypical type reported in 3.3–6.7% [3].

In another study of patients with both CP and epilepsy, the following seizure types were observed: 44.6% experience focal to generalized tonic-clonic, 41.1%

focal impaired awareness (complex partial), 7.1% focal aware (simple partial), 5.4% myoclonic, and 1.8% experience atonic seizures [30]. This finding is in line with the literature review [31]. Figure 2 and Table 3 show epileptic syndromes and types of seizures in subtypes of CP in children with cerebral palsy.
