AUTISM AND EPILEPSY (AND TUBEROUS SCLEROSIS) IN 2 PREADOLESCENT BOYS - NEUROPSYCHIATRIC ASPECTS BEFORE AND AFTER EPILEPSY SURGERY

We report on two pre-adolescent boys with a combination of severe seiz ure disorders and severe-moderate autism who underwent brain surgery f or their epilepsy at the ages of 9 and 10 years, respectively. Both bo ys became seizure-free and initially improved dramatically with regard to autism symptoms. One of the boys continued to improve, but the oth er had a relapse to his pre-operative state in conjunction with his pu bertal growth spurt. Several years after surgery, one of the boys rema ined much improved with respect to his autism. The other subject showe d some improvement with respect to self-injury and aggression, and had slightly lower scores on screens for autism symptoms than in the year preceding epilepsy surgery. The histopathological examination of the brain tissue that was removed at surgery suggested a diagnosis of tube rous sclerosis in both cases.