STUDY BY IUPUI PROFESSORS SUGGESTS BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS MAY BE PART,
NOT PRODUCT OF, EPILEPSY

INDIANAPOLIS - A new study conducted by professors at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) and the University of Tennessee suggests that behavior problems in children with epilepsy may actually be part of the disease, rather than a side-effect.

"The same thing that causes the seizures may also cause a disruption in behavior," explained Joan Austin,
IU School of Nursing at IUPUI professor and the study's principal investigator.

Children with epilepsy often have behavior problems such as difficulty paying attention and difficulty thinking. It is commonly thought that the problems develop after the onset of the disease and as a reaction to the disease and its treatment. The study, released in the January 2001 issue of Pediatrics, contests this theory by showing that behavior problems often begin before their first seizure is recognized by caregivers.

Austin, Dr. David Dunn of the IU School of Medicine at IUPUI, Dr. Douglas Rose of the University of Tennessee and other IUPUI colleagues compared 224 children ages 4 to 14, who had suffered the first seizure recognized by caregivers, to their nearest-in-age healthy sibling.

They found that one-third were already suffering behavioral problems when they experienced their first recognized seizure. To determine this, researchers asked the parents to check off a list of behaviors demonstrated by the child in the six months prior to the first seizure.

After describing seizure symptoms to caregivers, researchers determined that some of the children had likely suffered a previous seizure unrecognized by their caregivers. The risk of behavioral problems increased in those children with almost 40%, mostly boys, suffering behavioral problems.

"These findings indicate a need for improving the early recognition of seizures," said Austin. "Parents and other caregivers should be educated about common and little known signs of epilepsy."

The study was the first to look at the behavior of children who had suffered unrecognized seizures.

The study also showed that siblings of children with epilepsy were also more likely to suffer behavior problems, though researchers are not clear why.