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Psychiatric and Behavioural Disorders in Children with Epilepsy (ILAE Task Force Report): Epilepsy and Autism
Author(s) -
Besag Frank,
Aldenkamp Albert,
Caplan Rochelle,
Dunn David W.,
Gobbi Giuseppe,
Sillanpää Matti
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
epileptic disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.673
H-Index - 53
eISSN - 1950-6945
pISSN - 1294-9361
DOI - 10.1684/epd.2016.0812
Subject(s) - epilepsy , autism , comorbidity , psychology , population , epilepsy syndromes , psychiatry , autism spectrum disorder , clinical psychology , medicine , neuroscience , environmental health
A high proportion of children with epilepsy have autism spectrum disorder. Although estimates vary, depending both on the population studied and the definitions used, a figure of around 20% has typically been reported. Autism can have a major impact on the life of the child and family. Despite the importance of this comorbidity and although many studies have been performed, a full understanding of the possible links between epilepsy and autism remains elusive. In a minority of cases, for example in the Landau‐Kleffner syndrome, the autistic features can be the result of the epilepsy itself. However, there has been a failure to demonstrate that the epilepsy itself plays a major role in most cases. The current evidence seems to point to a common underlying predisposing factor. The discovery of a growing number of genetic defects leading to both conditions would support this explanation of the link.