Headache and epilepsy in childhood: analysis of a series of 620 children

Abstract

The relationships between various types of headache and epilepsy were investigated in a sample of 620 children aged 2 to 16 years with special reference to the frequency and types of epilepsy, their distribution over the types of headache, the frequency of familiarity of convulsions and epilepsy by headache type and the frequency of epileptiform EEGs in headache-free intervals. Data were correlated with those of a control group of 100 suffering from Recurrent Respiratory Infection Syndrome (RRIS). Children with and without epilepsy were compared in respect of the course of headache in order to elicit any differences. Epilepsy was definitely more common in headache patients than in the control group, and so was a family history of epilepsy and convulsions. The frequency of epilepsy was uniform across the various types of headache, migrainous or not. The frequency of epileptiform EEGs was high (20%) compared to the control group, but was not an index of severity for headache, except in cases with multifocal EEG abnormalities. Neither the presence of epilepsy nor the frequency of epileptiform changes significantly effect the migraine attack rate.