What is Parietal Epilepsy in Children?
Parietal epilepsy refers to a heterogeneous group of diseases in which the initial clinical and electrophysiological manifestations indicate a focal nature of epileptic seizures and localization of the epileptogenic focus in the parietal lobe due to its primary lesion. The onset of the disease may be delayed or coincide with the course of the disease process in the brain. Parietal epilepsy can begin to develop at any age.
Causes of Parietal Epilepsy in Children
The most common cause of parietal epilepsy are tumors. Injuries, brain dysgenesis, gliosis due to abscess, cortical dysplasia, hematomas, post-infarction foci, neuroinfection, congenital parencephalic cysts, cerebral strokes are also possible.
Pathogenesis during Parietal Epilepsy in Children
Parietal epileptic seizures are predominantly simple partial and secondarily generalized. The initial clinical manifestations of parietal paroxysms are characterized mainly by subjective sensations (somatosensory paroxysms (intensification of a painful seizure to the highest degree; sometimes this word also means periodically returning seizures)). Somatosensory paroxysms are not accompanied by impaired consciousness and, as a rule, are caused by the involvement of the postcentral gyrus in the epileptic process. Somatosensory paroxysms have a short duration – from a few seconds to 1-2 minutes.
Symptoms of Parietal Epilepsy in Children
Clinical manifestations include paresthesia, pain, abnormal body patterns, etc. The most typical symptom of somatosensory paroxysms (increased any painful seizure to the highest degree; sometimes this word also means periodically recurring seizures) are elementary paresthesias – numbness, tingling, tickling, feeling “Crawling goosebumps”, “pinpricks”. In most cases, paresthesias are noted in the face and upper extremities. In the majority of patients, paresthesias spread along the Jackson march and are often combined with clonic twitching, which indicates the involvement of the precentral gyrus.
A characteristic feature of the parietal seizures is the tendency to the spread of epileptic activity to other areas of the brain (temporal, occipital lobes). In this regard, in addition to somatosensory disorders, at the time of the attack, there may be other symptoms – amaurosis (occipital lobe), clonic twitching of the limb (frontal lobe), tonic limb tension and automatism (temporal lobe). In somatosensory paroxysms, there is often no correlation between the localization of epileptic EEG patterns and clinical symptoms. Parietal seizures are “bioelectrically silent”. At the time of the attack, in some cases, adhesions in the central parietal and temporal areas are recorded.
Diagnosis of Parietal Epilepsy in Children
Diagnosis is based on the analysis of the types of attacks, neurological and mental manifestations, angiography, EEG (electroencephalogram) – shows focal slowing and adhesions, neuroradiological studies, MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) – shows structural changes.
Also mandatory in making a diagnosis is differential diagnosis. It is necessary to exclude other forms of epilepsy, as well as diseases with similar symptoms, such as seizures of a psychogenic nature, turning into disorders of the cerebral circulation, migraine with aura.
Treatment of Parietal Epilepsy in Children
Tasks in the treatment of epilepsy – to identify the causes, make the correct diagnosis, to achieve the cessation of epileptic seizures and minimize side effects, and normalize the life of the patient.
Therapy for parietal epilepsy is complex. Treatments include carbamazepine, difenin, valproate, hexamidine. Symptomatic therapy is also used in combination with medication. In the case of ineffectiveness of drug treatment, a surgical method is used.
The prognosis is always individual, since the cure depends on the period of diagnosis, the severity of the seizures, their frequency.
Prevention of Parietal Epilepsy in Children
In order to prevent parietal epilepsy, it is necessary to monitor the healthy lifestyle of the child: adequate physical exertion, avoiding smoking and alcohol during adolescence, drinking tonic drinks (strong tea, coffee), sticking to full sleep, taking time for long walks in the fresh air, living in environmentally friendly zone.
When parietal epilepsy is very important to monitor the mode of the day, nutrition, in which you must enter the sour-milk products. Antiepileptic drugs are prescribed to prevent epileptic seizures after traumatic brain injuries and operations.