{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,2]],"date-time":"2026-08-02T02:08:24Z","timestamp":1785636504143,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":13,"publisher":"American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)","issue":"1","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2007,7,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>OBJECTIVE. The objective of this study was to determine the causes of childhood epilepsy associated with mental retardation and determine whether these causes are preventable.<\/jats:p>\n               <jats:p>METHODS. We selected all patients from the Nova Scotia population-based childhood epilepsy cohort (n = 692) who had mental retardation and had epilepsy onset between 1977 and 1985. Causes and family history were determined by chart review and caregiver interview after 18.8 (SD: \u00b17) years of follow-up.<\/jats:p>\n               <jats:p>RESULTS. Overall, 147 patients had mental retardation and epilepsy (21% of all childhood epilepsy). Standard psychological testing was available for 57%; 38.5% were too impaired for testing, which left 4% with the degree of mental retardation assessed clinically. Severe\/profound mental retardation predominated (mild: 24%; moderate: 23%, severe\/profound: 53%). Fifty-nine percent had additional severe neurologic deficits, most often associated with severe mental retardation. Epilepsy syndromes were symptomatic generalized (n = 73), partial (n = 58), and other (n = 16). Most had a brain imaging study: 91% had a computed tomography scan, and 12% had an MRI scan. Sixty-three percent had a defined cause; 37% had an unknown cause. A defined cause was more likely in those with severe mental retardation (60 of 78 vs 31 of 65). Identified causes were prenatal or genetic (65%), perinatal (8%), or complications of prematurity (13%). Only 11 (7%) had an acquired cause that was potentially preventable. Many (36%) had a first- or second-degree relative with epilepsy, more often in those without a clear cause (54% vs 30%) and without additional neurologic disability (57% vs 26%).<\/jats:p>\n               <jats:p>CONCLUSIONS. Approximately 20% of children with epilepsy have mental retardation. The cause is prenatal or genetic in nearly two thirds, and only 7% have an acquired, preventable cause. Important genetic influences may be present, especially in the absence of a defined cause.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1542\/peds.2006-3290","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2007,7,2]],"date-time":"2007-07-02T16:35:25Z","timestamp":1183394125000},"page":"e52-e55","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":48,"title":["Preventable and Unpreventable Causes of Childhood-Onset Epilepsy Plus Mental Retardation"],"prefix":"10.1542","volume":"120","author":[{"given":"Carol","family":"Camfield","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Dalhousie University, and the IWK Health Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Peter","family":"Camfield","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Dalhousie University, and the IWK Health Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"417","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2007,7,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"2021120901555814100_R1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Besag FMC. Childhood epilepsy in relation to mental handicap and behavioral disorders. J Child Psychol Psychiatry.\u20082002;43:103\u2013131","DOI":"10.1111\/1469-7610.00006"},{"key":"2021120901555814100_R2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Wakamoto H, Nagao H, Hayashi M, Morimoto T. Long-term medical, educational, and social prognoses of childhood-onset epilepsy: a population-based study in a rural district of Japan. Brain Dev.\u20082000;22:246\u2013255","DOI":"10.1016\/S0387-7604(00)00121-2"},{"key":"2021120901555814100_R3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Wendt LV, Rantakallio P, Saukkonen AL, Makinen H. Epilepsy and associated handicaps in a 1 year birth cohort in Northern Finland. Eur J Pediatr.\u20081985;144:149\u2013151","DOI":"10.1007\/BF00451901"},{"key":"2021120901555814100_R4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Camfield CS, Camfield PR, Gordon KE, Dooley JM, Smith BS. Predicting the outcome of childhood epilepsy: a population based study yielding a simple scoring system. J Pediatr.\u2008l993;122:861\u2013868","DOI":"10.1016\/S0022-3476(09)90008-7"},{"key":"2021120901555814100_R5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Sillanpaa M. Learning disability: occurrence and long-term consequences in childhood-onset epilepsy. Epilepsy Behav.\u20082004;5:937\u2013944","DOI":"10.1016\/j.yebeh.2004.08.008"},{"key":"2021120901555814100_R6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Engel J. A proposed diagnostic scheme for people with epileptic seizures and epilepsy: report of the ILAE Task Force on Classification and Terminology. Epilepsia.\u20082001;42:796\u2013803","DOI":"10.1046\/j.1528-1157.2001.10401.x"},{"key":"2021120901555814100_R7","unstructured":"D'Amelio M, Shinnar S, Hauser WA. Epilepsy in children with mental retardation and cerebral palsy. In: Devinsky O, Westbrook LE, eds. Epilepsy and Developmental Disabilities. Woburn, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann; 2000:3\u201316"},{"key":"2021120901555814100_R8","unstructured":"Camfield PR, Camfield CS. Initiating and discontinuing anti-epileptic drugs in children with neurologic handicaps and epilepsy. In: Devinsky O, Westbrook LE, eds. Epilepsy and Developmental Disabilities. New York, NY: Academic Press; 2001:281\u2013286"},{"key":"2021120901555814100_R9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Waaler PE, Blom BH, Skeidsvoll H, Mykletun A. Prevalence, classification and severity of epilepsy in children in Western Norway. Epilepsia.\u20082000;41:802\u2013810","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1528-1157.2000.tb00246.x"},{"key":"2021120901555814100_R10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Blasco PA. Pitfalls in developmental diagnosis. Pediatr Clin N Am.\u20081991;38:1425\u20131438","DOI":"10.1016\/S0031-3955(16)38228-1"},{"key":"2021120901555814100_R11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Berg AT, Testa FM, Levy SR, Shinnar S. Neuroimaging in children with newly diagnosed epilepsy: a community-based study. Pediatrics.\u20082000;106:527\u2013532","DOI":"10.1542\/peds.106.3.527"},{"key":"2021120901555814100_R12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Rauch A, Hoyer J, Guth S, Zweier C, et al. Diagnostic yield of various genetic approaches in patients with unexplained developmental delay or mental retardation. Am J Med Genet A.\u20082006;140:2063\u20132074","DOI":"10.1002\/ajmg.a.31416"},{"key":"2021120901555814100_R13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Cowan LD. The epidemiology of the epilepsies in children. Ment Retard Dev Disabil Res Rev.\u20082002;8:171\u2013181","DOI":"10.1002\/mrdd.10035"}],"container-title":["Pediatrics"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/publications.aap.org\/pediatrics\/article-pdf\/120\/1\/e52\/1119320\/zpe00707000e52.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"syndication"},{"URL":"https:\/\/publications.aap.org\/pediatrics\/article-pdf\/120\/1\/e52\/1119320\/zpe00707000e52.pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,9]],"date-time":"2021-12-09T08:20:28Z","timestamp":1639038028000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/publications.aap.org\/pediatrics\/article\/120\/1\/e52\/70480\/Preventable-and-Unpreventable-Causes-of-Childhood"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2007,7,1]]},"references-count":13,"journal-issue":{"issue":"1","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2007,7,1]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2007,7,1]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1542\/peds.2006-3290","relation":{},"ISSN":["0031-4005","1098-4275"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0031-4005","type":"print"},{"value":"1098-4275","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2007,7,1]]}}}