Event-related acoustically evoked potentials (ER-AEP) before and during anticonvulsive therapy in children

In this prospective study, 57 children, 6 to 15 years old, with the onset o f a generalised epilepsy, symptomatic/cryptogenic focal epilepsy or idiopat hic benign partial epilepsy were investigated before and during anticonvuls ive therapy with valproic acid, carbamazepine and sulthiame. Before beginni ng the treatment, ER-AEP were performed and again three months later after starting medication. Control cohort was a group of 49 healthy children who also were investigated twice with ER-AEP without receiving any medication. For registration of the ER-AEP, sounds were presented to the children at ra ndom intervals in a ratio of 70 % of the stimuli at 1000 Hz and 30% of the stimuli at 4000 Hz. The children were instructed to indicate the 4000 Hz so unds. This was repeated at least three times for each patient to be sure of reproducibility. All data were analysed with parametric tests (paired t-te st) and by analysis of variance (ANOVA) to find out their degree of signifi cance. The median values of MMN and P300 were compared with those of the co ntrol group. Our study showed that primary generalised epilepsies did not l ead to a significant prolongation of latencies, and that valproic acid did not have a significant effect. In symptomatic/cryptogenic focal epilepsies prolongation of latencies was found to be significant. Carbamazepine led to a significant improvement of latencies, and in idiopathic/benign partial e pilepsy of childhood sulthiame even normalised the prolonged latencies. The prolongation of latencies is mainly located at the level between P2 and MM N. This investigation shows for the first time the influence of sulthiame o n event-related potentials in idiopathic, so-called benign partial epilepsi es in childhood.