Damage from Childhood Prolonged Seizures Less than Previously Thought

Findings in a recent study reported at the American Epilepsy Society’s 67th Annual Meeting show that not all children who experience childhood convulsive status epilepticus (CSE) have impaired hippocampal growth years after a prolonged seizure, contrary to the long-standing hypothesis. Investigators used three-dimensional, MRI imaging to measure hippocampal volume in 144 children–with 70 healthy controls and four patient groups–and found that only one subgroup of children showed a significant reduction in hippocampal growth compared to all the other groups in the study. Results suggest that prolonged seizures many not have a lasting effect on hippocampal growth in children who were neurologically normal prior to convulsive status epilepticus. To read more about the results from this study, click here.