Epilepsy in Shunted Posthemorrhagic Infantile Hydrocephalus Owing to Pre- or Perinatal Intra- or Periventricular Hemorrhage

Epilepsy is relatively common in infants with hydrocephalus. Its mechanism is controversial; in fact, studies on etiologically heterogeneous series are not able to clarify the mechanism generating epilepsy or to suggest effective prevention and treatment strategies. Our study is aimed at assessing the onset and evolution of epilepsy, as well as concurrent cognitive development of a homogeneous series of shunted posthemorrhagic hydrocephalus owing to pre- or perinatal intra- or periventricular hemorrhage. Forty patients were enrolled in the study. Twenty-six were patients with grade II—III intraventricular hemorrhage, 16 of whom had associated ischemic lesions. In the remaining 14 patients, a grade IV intraventricular hemorrhage was found. Epilepsy was observed in 27 patients. Aside from 10 cases with nonsyndromic forms of epilepsy, it was possible to define at least three different age-dependent epileptic syndromes: symptomatic neonatal location-related epilepsy with transient West's syndrome in infancy i...