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Brain Tumors Presenting as a Seizure Disorder in Infants

Departments of Pediatrics, Neurosurgery, and Radiology, the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, Birmingham, AL

O. Carter Snead, III, MD

Departments of Pediatrics, Neurosurgery, and Radiology, the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, Birmingham, AL

Richard Morawetz, MD

Departments of Pediatrics, Neurosurgery, and Radiology, the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, Birmingham, AL

B. Chandra-Sekar, MD

Departments of Pediatrics, Neurosurgery, and Radiology, the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, Birmingham, AL

Seizures occur in 25% to 40% of children with supratentorial tumors and are the presenting complaint in 10% to 15%. However, when divided by age, only 2% of children with seizures as the presenting complaint of brain tumors were less than 1 year of age. Three children, ranging in age from 20 days to 7 months and seen within the past 2 years, form the basis of this report. The presenting complaint in all children was seizures. Computed tomographic (CT) scan was indicated in all children because of intractability to anticonvulsant drug therapy (one patient) and focal electroencephalographic (EEG) abnormality with clinical evidence of complex partial seizure activity (two patients). CT scan showed a contrast-enhancing mass in the medial temporal lobe in all patients. At surgery, a temporal lobe tumor was found and resected in all children. Histopathologic examination revealed a ganglioglioma, a fibrillary astrocytoma, and an anaplastic astrocytoma. All children did well postoperatively and are seizure free to date. Our experience suggests that supratentorial tumors should be considered as a cause of intractable and/or focal seizures in children under 1 year of age, and that such tumors should be attacked aggressively neurosurgically. Our experience is also in agreement with that of Tadmor et al, who have suggested that with the advent of CT scanning supratentorial tumors in this age group have been found to be more common than previously realized. ( Child Neurol 1987;2:214-219)

Journal of Child Neurology, Vol. 2, No. 3, 214-219 (1987)
DOI: 10.1177/088307388700200308


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