High incidence of pediatric idiopathic epilepsy is associated with familial and autosomal dominant disease in Eastern Newfoundland

Prevalence of epilepsy in childhood: An epidemiological study in Sardinia

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency and characteristics of pediatric epilepsy in the geographic isolate of Sardinia island and to calculate the prevalence of active epilepsy.

METHODS

The study was retrospective, observational and involved a systematic review of medical records and computerized archives containing all clinical and EEG recordings of patients with epilepsy referred to the regional structures that could have followed patients with epilepsy in South Sardinia, during the period 2003-2021.

RESULTS

The study population included 112,912 children and adolescents (age ≤ 18 years). 618 children and adolescents (women 42.4 %) were identified. Family history of epilepsy was reported in 153 (26.1 %). Etiology was genetic in 64.5 % and structural in 26.7 % subjects. Focal seizures were reported in 51.6 % of subjects, followed by 34.7 % with generalized seizures and 10.6 % of patients experienced both type of seizures. A total of 301 subjects with active epilepsy in 2019 were identified resulting in a prevalence of 2.67 per 1000 (95 % CI 2.37-2.97). Prevalence in the age class 5-14 years was 4.21 per 1000 (95 % CI 3.72-4.76).

CONCLUSION

Compared to the previous studies in distinct geographic isolates, the present study showed a significantly low prevalence rate of active epilepsy; a high percentage of focal seizures and genetic etiology.

Epidemiology and familial clustering of pediatric epilepsy in the geographic isolate of Ischia

BACKGROUND

Geographic isolates are the ideal setting to study the genetic background and the epidemiology of epilepsy. There are only few published reports on the epidemiology of pediatric epilepsy in geographic isolates.

METHODS

This study was performed in the Ischia island, district of Napoli (Southern Italy). The local population includes 61,086 individuals, 8381 of them aged from 0 to 14 years. We included children with two or more unprovoked seizures or one unprovoked seizure associated to a high risk of relapse, observed from 2004 to 2017. Neonatal, febrile and acute symptomatic seizures were excluded. Eligible patients were identified through the local pediatricians' medical records. All probands and their parents underwent a face-to-face interview. Clinical charts were reviewed and electroclinical diagnoses were confirmed by two authors (AC, VB).

RESULTS

Thirty-six children and adolescents were included. Overall, the prevalence of epilepsy in the Ischia island was 4.3 per 1,000 (95% CI 3.0-5.9). Incidence was 51.7 per 100,000 person-years (95% CI 36.2-71.6). Sixteen (44.4%) patients had a genetic (idiopathic) origin and 20 (55.6%) a symptomatic (structural/metabolic) etiology. Nine probands (25%) had at least one family member with epilepsy (including third-degree relatives). Their pedigrees were suggestive of dominant inheritance in six and of recessive inheritance in three families.

CONCLUSIONS

The epidemiological features of pediatric epilepsy in this geographic isolate are similar to the general population. A family history was reported in one fourth of the patients with a wide clinical heterogeneity, likely reflecting genetic heterogeneity in this population.

Incidence and cohort prevalence for autism spectrum disorders in the Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland and Labrador

BACKGROUND

Recent studies have reported increased prevalence for autism spectrum disorders in a number of geographical locations. Our objective was to determine the incidence and 1-year cohort prevalence for autism spectrum disorders in children less than 15 years of age and living in the Avalon Peninsula at the time of diagnosis.

METHODS

Retrospective and prospective data were obtained from the Janeway Children's Health and Rehabilitation Centre (St. John's), including the identification and specific diagnosis for all children assessed for autism spectrum disorder from 2006 to 2010. Additional clinic data were reviewed to update the data until the end of 2013.

RESULTS

From 2006 to 2010, 272 children had a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder, averaging 54 new cases per year. The incidence of new cases increased from 10.1 to 16.7 cases per 10 000 per year from 2006 to 2010. At the end of 2013, the prevalence among children born in 2006 was 1 case of autism spectrum disorder per 46 children or 215.77 per 10 000.

INTERPRETATION

We found higher rates of autism spectrum disorder than previously reported for this population. The prevalence in this region is also high when compared with other global populations. The high rate of diagnosis supports the need for a provincial autism spectrum disorder registry and further research on autism spectrum disorder within this population.