根據癲癇在線2005年3月29日發表的一項最新研究成果發現：接受過手術治療的癲癇兒童在總體認知發育方面出現了顯著改善，許多患者癲癇不再發作。

研究人員隨訪了3歲~7歲的兒童，觀察他們在接受癲癇手術最初幾年內智力的發育情況。盡管嚴重癲癇兒童是智力障礙的高風險人群，研究結果顯示這些兒童在手術之后癲癇不在發作，智力發育的更好，而且確實獲得了在手術之前不具有的能力。

“對那些咨詢他們孩子是否應當接受癲癇手術的患兒父母，我們的研究結果很好的研究回答了這個問題。”通訊作者Ingrid Tuxhorn醫生說。他一直在德國Bethel癲癇中心進行長期生活質量的研究。在手術之后12個月，82%的兒童在發育上出現了穩定的進步，3個兒童的智商增加了15點。智商增加僅僅見于那些癲癇不在發作的兒童。

Tuxhorn醫生說：“這項對接受過癲癇手術的學齡前兒童長期認知試驗研究的結果顯示：癲癇發作史較短、病因較局限、以及癲癇不在發作的患者，在成功的手術之后2~3年認知能力提高的機會更大。現在的問題是提供確定手術治療理想時間的資料。”Tuxhorn博士與共同作者Hedwig Freitag醫生是兒童癲癇綜合征以及外科手術治療教科書的編輯。
 
 
Surgery Reduces Epileptic Seizures
 
Children with epilepsy who underwent surgical treatment showed significant improvements on overall cognitive development and many were left seizure-free, according to a new study published in the March 29, 2005, online edition of Epilepsy.

Researchers followed children aged three to seven years to see how they developed intellectually in the first few years following epilepsy surgery. Although children with severe epilepsy are at high risk for significant mental handicaps, the results showed that those children who became seizure-free after surgery were able to develop better and may actually gain some abilities they did not have before the surgery.

“The questions answered in our study have a significant everyday value for counseling parents whether their child should undergo epilepsy surgery,” said corresponding author Ingrid Tuxhorn, M.D., who is conducting long-term quality-of-life studies on epilepsy at the Bethel Epilepsy Center (Bielefeld, Germany). Twelve months after the surgery, 82% of the children showed stable improvements in development, and three children showed gains of greater than 15 points in their intelligence quotient (IQ). Gains in IQ were only observed in seizure-free children.

“This study on the long-term cognitive outcome of preschool children who had epilepsy surgery shows that children with a shorter duration of epilepsy, more localized etiologies, and a seizure-free outcome have the best chance for improving their cognitive function two to three years after a successful operation,” observed Dr. Tuxhorn. “The question [now] is to provide data to determine ideal timing of surgical treatment.” Dr. Tuxhorn and co-author Hedwig Freitag, M.D., are editors of a book on pediatric epilepsy syndromes and their surgical treatment.