2009 Volume 26 Issue 3 Pages 446-452
Epilepsy in childhood sometimes involves behavioral problems, which are refractory to medical treatment. We describe a 7-year-old boy with frontal lobe epilepsy and severe behavioral problem, which dramatically improved following epilepsy surgeries. He had a severe attention deficit described as "acting vigorously as if driven by a motor", as well as severe mental retardation since 3 years old. He underwent anterior 2/3 callosotomy followed by two-time resections of left frontal lobe, and achieved not only complete seizure freedom but dramatic behavioral improvement. SNAP (Swanson, Norlan and Pelham) rating scale adjusting for him showed marked improvement in the component of his hyperactivity and impulsiveness.
This case highlighted strong relation between frontal lobe epilepsy and behavioral impairment in childhood from the surgical perspective. The improvement of the behavior as well as epileptic seizures following the left frontal lobe resection in the present patient indicated that epileptic focus in the left frontal lobe was also responsible for the behavioral disorder.
