A study on CT findings and electroencephalographic findings in severely handicapped children

Sleep electroencephalographic (EEG) and computed tomographic (CT) features were examined in 40 institutionalized severely handicapped persons. Cranial CT appearance fell into five major types: (I) no abnormal findings (n=2), (II) generalized brain atrophy (n=16), (III) diffuse parenchymal disturbance (n=10), (IV) brain malformation (n=4), and (V) localized brain disturbance (n=8). In the I group, one person had normal EEG findings as well, but another person had the presence of focal spikes without spindles on EEG. Five of the II group had no abnormal EEG findings; ten had abnormality in basic waves and/or localized paroxysmal waves; and one had generalized spike-and-slow wave complex. All persons in the III group had flattening or disappearance of spindle waves. In the IV group, two persons with cerebral malformation and one with linear nevus sebaceous syndrome in association with hypoplasia of the cerebral hemisphere had abnormality in basic waves and localized paroxysmal waves. In the remaining one person with deficit of vermis cerebelli, there was no EEG abnormality. Among the last group of persons, there was no EEG abnormality corresponding to CT features. (Namekawa, K)