Early detection of lato sensu epilepsy: diagnostic and prognostic importance in autism spectrum disorders

• Autor(a) principal: Kuczynski, Evelyn
• Data de Publicação: 2016
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Debates em Psiquiatria (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://revistardp.org.br/revista/article/view/134
• topic: Epilepsia; autismo infantil; Epilepsy; childhood autism

The association between autism and epilepsy is more than casual or random, since there is an increase in epilepsy detection after puberty in subjects with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). More frequent in children under 5 years of age and in adolescents, epilepsy presents rates as high as 70% in childhood disintegrative disorders. However, there is insufficient data on the prevalence of ASD among subjects with epilepsy. Conservative authors state that the prevalence of epilepsy in ASD is 1 to 2% higher than in the general population, with ASD being a risk factor for epilepsy. Research has benefited from better structured, universal diagnostic criteria for ASD, as well as from a new international classification of epilepsies, with better identification and investigation of epilepsy in different ASD subgroups. The strong association between ASD and epilepsy is no longer questioned. Establishing a cause-effect relationship for epilepsy and ASD is tempting. However, there is no evidence that medical or surgical treatment of epilepsy will change the prognosis of ASD. Specific studies conducted with this population are needed to elucidate the actual role of epilepsy in ASD.