Neurological and electroencephalographic abnormalities after febrile seizures. Possible association with cytomegalovirus.

In order to assess the possible association of cytomegalovirus (CMV) with cerebral damage, 65 children aged between 2 and 10 years were tested for CMV isolation and antibody status. All of them had previously presented one or more episodes of febrile convulsions. At the time of our study, they were grouped according to their clinical features and electroencephalogram (EEG). 21 had typical and/or atypical absence attacks with 3 c/s spike-wave EEG (primary generalized epilepsy), 21 presented febrile seizures and spontaneous fits with focal EEG abnormalities, 23 had no seizures and a normal EEG. We performed the same investigation in 41 healthy children. The study showed a similar isolation rate of CMV in healthy subjects and in patients without neurological and EEG alterations, while a significantly higher isolation rate was observed in the groups with neurological and EEG abnormalities. As for serology, no significant difference was observed between the four groups, although the positivity rate of the healthy children was lower than in the other three groups. The study suggests a possible association of CMV with neurological and EEG abnormalities after febrile seizures.