| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2015 | Volume
: 36
| Issue : 3 | Page : 150-157 |
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Electroencephalographic pattern among autistic children and their relatives
Nehal Elkholy, Ayman Ezedin, Mohammed Hamdy, Heba Abou El Wafa MD
Department of Neuropsychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt
Correspondence Address:
Heba Abou El Wafa
Department of Neuropsychiatry, Alexandria University, 21511 Alexandria
Egypt
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/1110-1105.166359
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Introduction
Autism and related autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are lifelong, often severely impairing neurodevelopmental syndromes involving deficits in social relatedness, language, and behavior. There is good evidence that electroencephalographic (EEG) changes are common in children with autism and these EEG changes are considered to be signs of cerebral dysfunction.
Aim of the work
The aim of this study was to study specific EEG patterns in autism and to correlate severity of autism to EEG patterns.
Participants and methods
The study was conducted on 30 children who met the DSM-IV-TR criteria for autism aged 3 years and above, and 30 siblings of them not fulfilling criteria of any pervasive developmental disorder. Participants of this study were recruited from the private centers of developmentally handicapped children, and the neuropsychiatry outpatient clinic of Alexandria University Hospital. All studied children were subjected to the following: first: full history taking and physical, neurological, and psychiatric examination for clinical assessment of ASD according to DSM-IV-TR criteria. Second: psychological testing using the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS). Third: EEG for all sampled children.
Results
Prevalence of EEG abnormalities among autistic cases was 66.7%, whereas in the sibling group was 20%, which was significantly different from cases group. Generalized symmetrical spike wave complexes and focal centrotemporal spikes were the most prevalent EEG changes among autistic cases. There was a significant relationship between CARS and generalized EEG abnormalities.
Conclusion
Generalized symmetrical spike wave complexes and focal centrotemporal spikes were the most prevalent EEG changes among autistic cases. The lack of similarity between cases and sibling EEGs suggests that the epileptiform activity found in children with ASDs is more than just a familial pattern or a typical childhood finding. There was a significant relationship between CARS and generalized EEG abnormalities. |
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