Cognitive Disorders in Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy

Abstract

Cognitive disorders are often associated with epilepsy and are a result of a combination of various factors. This review describes scientific advances in the field of cognitive disorders in patients with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME), the most common form of idiopathic generalized epilepsy. Data in this review were collected through an extensive literature search of available full-text publications in PubMed and eLIBRARY.RU databases. We selected four theories of the origin of cognitive impairment in JME patients for discussion, based on the analysis of available studies. Our findings highlight the etiological heterogeneity of cognitive disorders in JME and the importance early screening for them.

Keywords

• juvenile myoclonic epilepsy
• cognitive disorders
• epileptiform discharges
• antiepileptic drugs