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Clinical characteristics of children and young adults with co-occurring autism spectrum disorder and epilepsy

Overview of attention for article published in Epilepsy & Behavior, January 2015
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  • In the top 5% of all research outputs scored by Altmetric
  • High Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age (96th percentile)
  • High Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age and source (96th percentile)

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2 news outlets
blogs
1 blog
twitter
19 X users
facebook
1 Facebook page

Citations

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123 Dimensions

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mendeley
229 Mendeley
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2 CiteULike
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Title
Clinical characteristics of children and young adults with co-occurring autism spectrum disorder and epilepsy
Published in
Epilepsy & Behavior, January 2015
DOI 10.1016/j.yebeh.2014.12.022
Pubmed ID
Authors

Christelle M. El Achkar, Sarah J. Spence

Abstract

The association between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and epilepsy has been described for decades, and yet we still lack the full understanding of this relationship both clinically and at the pathophysiologic level. This review evaluates the available data in the literature pertaining to the clinical characteristics of patients with autism spectrum disorder who develop epilepsy and, conversely, patients with epilepsy who develop autism spectrum disorder. Many studies demonstrate an increased risk of epilepsy in individuals with ASD, but rates vary widely. This variability is likely secondary to the different study methods employed, including the study population and definitions of the disorders. Established risk factors for an increased risk of epilepsy in patients with ASD include intellectual disability and female gender. There is some evidence of an increased risk of epilepsy associated with other factors such as ASD etiology (syndromic), severity of autistic features, developmental regression, and family history. No one epilepsy syndrome or seizure type has been associated, although focal or localization-related seizures are often reported. The age at seizure onset can vary from infancy to adulthood with some evidence of a bimodal age distribution. The severity and intractability of epilepsy in populations with ASD have not been well studied, and there is very little investigation of the role that epilepsy plays in the autism behavioral phenotype. There is evidence of abnormal EEGs (especially epileptiform abnormalities) in children with ASD even in the absence of clinical seizures, but very little is known about this phenomenon and what it means. The development of autism spectrum disorder in patients with epilepsy is less well studied, but there is evidence that the ASD risk is greater in those with epilepsy than in the general population. One of the risk factors is intellectual disability, and there is some evidence that the presence of a particular seizure type, infantile spasms, may increase risk, but some of the data are conflicting. We believe that one of the reasons that so little is known about this phenomenon is the lack of cross talk between researchers and clinicians alike in the two fields. We conclude that large systematic studies that employ strict ascertainment of samples using standardized definitions of both disorders, validated data collection tools, and appropriate longitudinal follow-up are needed to better shed light on certain clinical aspects of the comorbidity of ASD and epilepsy. Ideally, we could provide the optimal diagnostic and treatment services to these patients in a multidisciplinary setting with both epilepsy and neurobehavioral specialists. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled "Autism and Epilepsy".

X Demographics

X Demographics

The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 19 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 229 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
United States 3 1%
Italy 1 <1%
Unknown 225 98%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Researcher 36 16%
Student > Master 26 11%
Student > Ph. D. Student 25 11%
Student > Bachelor 24 10%
Student > Doctoral Student 23 10%
Other 47 21%
Unknown 48 21%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Medicine and Dentistry 50 22%
Psychology 40 17%
Neuroscience 24 10%
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 12 5%
Social Sciences 12 5%
Other 33 14%
Unknown 58 25%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 40. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 15 October 2019.
All research outputs
#1,027,130
of 25,374,917 outputs
Outputs from Epilepsy & Behavior
#74
of 4,610 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#14,051
of 377,427 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Epilepsy & Behavior
#2
of 52 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 25,374,917 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done particularly well and is in the 95th percentile: it's in the top 5% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 4,610 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a little more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 5.5. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 98% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 377,427 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 96% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 52 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 96% of its contemporaries.