Perinatal Stroke Can Lead to Epilepsy in Children

Any part of the brain that is injured, whether it is by trauma, low oxygen levels, or stroke, can become a focus for seizures. Studies have shown that a large percent of infants who suffer strokes around the time of birth have seizures as an initial symptom. What is not known, however, is whether those seizures become recurrent (i.e., epileptic) in those infants leading them to be diagnosed with epilepsy.

A recent study followed children who suffered a stroke around the time of birth in order to evaluate whether these strokes were associated with the development of epilepsy. The authors found that 67% of these children in fact developed epilepsy.

The study underscores an important clinical concept: the consequences of stroke in children go beyond local brain damage, and causing further indirect damage by inducing epilepsy. An important finding of these investigators was that most of these children (64%) became seizure-free with appropriate treatment. With this in mind, early evaluation and continued follow-up by a pediatric neurologist is necessary to prevent further brain damage and possible developmental delay from seizures.