Temporal lobe epilepsy in childhood: reappraisal of etiology and outcome.

This article reports the neurologic and psychologic findings, seizure characteristics, family histories, and etiology of clinically and electroencephalographically defined temporal lobe epilepsy in 63 children who were studied retrospectively. Subsequent data were available for 53 patients (84%), 15 of whom had undergone temporal lobectomies; 38 patients had been managed conservatively for at least 2 years. Previous, complicated febrile convulsions were the most common predisposing factor, occurring in 13 patients (21%), while 6 patients had tumors (10%). Of the 10 children whose onset of temporal lobe seizures occurred before 2 years of age, 5 had tumors. The presence of emotional or behavioral problems was related significantly to the presence of borderline or low intelligence, but not to the frequency of seizures. Although there was a tendency for a reduction in seizure frequency over time, only 10% of those managed by medical therapy alone were seizure-free at a mean subsequent examination interval of 6.6 years.