Epilepsy in patients with spastic cerebral palsy: correlation with MRI findings at 5 years of age

The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between epilepsy an d the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in patients with spastic ce rebral palsy at five years of age. We studied 14 patients with congenital a nomaly and 116 with perinatal injury. The patients with perinatal injury we re subdivided into two groups; those with preterm type injury alone (group P), and those with term type injury with or without preterm type injury (gr oup T). Epilepsy was found in 37 of the 130 patients. The initial type of s eizures was partial in 12 patients, infantile spasms in 20 and generalized in five. Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated that patients with congenital a nomaly had a higher incidence and an earlier onset of epilepsy than those w ith perinatal injury. Of the patients with perinatal injury, group T patien ts showed a higher incidence and a later onset of epilepsy than group P pat ients. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.