Is ″benign Childhood Epilepsy with Centrotemporal Spikes″ Always Benign?

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of associated behavioral problems and prognosis with Benign Childhood Epilepsy with CentroTemporal Spikes (BCECTS). Descriptive, Cross Sectional study that was conducted from October 2009 to April 2013 in the Department of Pediatric Neurology, the Children’s Hospital Taif, KSA. MATERIAL & METHODS: This study was conducted after approval from the Ethics Committee of the Children’s Hospital Taif, Saudi Arabia. Thirty-two patients from the age of 3 to 10 years old were recruited from the pediatric neurology clinic over a period of 4 years. All the patients were selected based on history, EEGs, and neuropsychological and neurological examinations. EEGs were performed for all the patients while in awake and sleep states. Those who had centrotemporal discharges were included in the study. All the patients also underwent a brain MRI. Only two patients had mild cortical atrophy but developmentally they were normal. RESULTS: In our study, prevalence of BRE is 32/430 (7.44%). Among the 32 cases, 24 were male and eight were female. Six cases out of 32 indicated a family history of BRE. Twenty-eight cases had unilateral right sided centrotemporal discharges and four had bilateral discharges. CONCLUSION: It is possible that for BECTS, a high number of seizures might play an important role in the development of mild cognitive impairment and/or behavior disturbances.