Risk factors of cognitive impairment in pediatric epilepsy patients with focal cortical dysplasia

Abstract Objective The purpose of this study was to identify the risk factors of cognitive impairment in pediatric epilepsy patients with focal cortical dysplasia (FCD). Methods 77 patients with histopathologically confirmed FCD were studied. The statistical relationship between cognition levels and clinical factors at presurgical evaluation was analyzed. Cognitive function was evaluated by development quotient or intelligence quotient (DQ-IQ). Results Ages at seizure onset were younger than 15 years (mean ± SD; 5.0 ± 4.2 years). Mean disease duration was 14.5 ± 8.5 years. Mean age at pre-surgical DQ-IQ evaluation was 34.8 ± 10.7 years. Mean DQ-IQ was 60.5 ± 20.5, and 41 of 77 (53.2%) patients had mental retardation (DQ-IQ  2  = 0.63, p  Conclusions Our study suggests that seizure characteristics including higher seizure frequency pattern, a history of epileptic spasm, status epilepticus, seizure clustering and early onset of seizure are risk factors of cognitive impairment in FCD patients.