In the April 12, 2011 issue of Neurology, Dr. Skirrow and colleagues from the UCL Institute of Child Health in London, United Kingdom, presented the results of a long-term follow-up of 42 children who underwent temporal lobe surgery and studied them for a period that lasted as long as nine years. The objective was to assess the impact of successful surgery on IQ.

Investigators found that of 42 children, 86% of the individuals who had had surgery were rendered seizure free and 57% were no longer taking medication. They found a significant increase in IQ in individuals who had had a temporal lobectomy after more than five years. Moreover, the group who had surgery reported better psychosocial outcomes including improved quality of life associated with becoming seizure free.

This study further underscores how important early surgery is with regards to outcomes for individuals with epilepsy. This study clearly provides evidence that in children with temporal lobe epilepsy who become seizure free after successful surgery their long-term intellectual outcome clearly is improved as compared to those who maintain medications. This study is important because it helps again emphasize that seizures aren’t the only aspect of epilepsy that create the problem for individuals with the condition, but rather other problems such as memory and cognition which influences IQ are also just as important.

Joseph Sirven, M.D.
Editor-in-Chief, epilepsy.com 
Last Reviewed: 5/15/11

Article from the May 2011 Epilepsy.com Spotlight Newsletter. Other articles in this issue inclue:

• On My Mind: What is Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy?
• What Happens When You Don't Take Your Medication in Children with Newly Diagnosed Epilepsy
• Folic Acid Supplementation Prevents Phenytoin-induced Gingival Overgrowth in Children
• Seizures: The Next Level of Care: The Comprehensive Epilepsy Center
• Ketogenic Diet - A Review
• Epilepsy Medication Mebaral to be Discontinued