EEG Abnormalities Common in Children with Language Delays

Source: Brain & development

Summary

This study looked at children who have delays in language development to see how common certain brain activity patterns, called epileptiform discharges, are among them. Researchers evaluated 132 children, but excluded 10 who were later diagnosed with autism, leaving 122 children for the final analysis. The average age of these children was about 3 years and 3 months, and most of them were boys.

The key findings showed that about 11.5% of the children had epileptiform discharges on their EEG tests, which were mostly found in the right or both sides of the brain. During a follow-up period of one year, six of the children developed epilepsy, and all of them had shown these abnormal brain patterns in their initial EEG. In contrast, none of the children with normal EEG results developed epilepsy during the follow-up.

These findings are important because they suggest that children with language delays may have a higher risk of epilepsy, especially if their EEG shows abnormal brain activity. However, the study has some limitations, such as not finding a clear link between the severity of these brain patterns and the likelihood of developing epilepsy. This means that while monitoring children with language delays is crucial, not all will develop epilepsy, and more research is needed to understand these connections better.

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