Is seizure onset related to visual deficits seen in pediatric epilepsy patients exposed to vigabatrin and can a visual evoked potential be used to follow vigabatrin therapy in this group?
Published: 2005
Language: eng
Number of pages: 124
Description: Children with infantile spasms have reduced visual functions such as contrast sensitivity and grating acuity. The sweep visual evoked potential was used to determine the basis for these deficits. All children tested had been exposed to vigabatrin, an anti epileptic drug. Subjects were divided into two groups: those who have infantile spasms correlated with an EEG pattern of hypsarrhythmia, and those with other seizure disorders. Both groups showed visual deficits compared with controls. In the infantile spasms group, neither seizure onset nor current vigabatrin therapy were related to visual deficits. In the other seizure group, later seizure onset and discontinuation of vigabatrin at test date were correlated with less severe deficits. We conclude that visual deficits seen in children with infantile spasms may be correlated with the presence of hypsarrhythmia. Children with other seizure disorders have deficits associated with age at seizure onset and the retinal effects of vigabatrin.
Notes: Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 44-02, page: 0768.

Thesis (M.Sc.)--University of Toronto, 2005.

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