The Epilepsy-Aphasia Spectrum – Chapter 1: Introduction (free ebook)

The idea that Landau-Kleffner syndrome (LKS) is a rare condition that does not deserve a whole book has been gradually challenged over the years. Actually, language loss which is the hallmark of LKS is only the most obvious and dramatic among a wide range of cognitive disturbances that can occur in the course of idiopathic focal epilepsies (IFE) of childhood, which are the most frequent childhood epilepsies. It has taken almost half a century to understand that LKS was due or closely related to a bioelectrical dysfunction of the brain, – ie. an epilepsy-even if it did not appear so at first glance. LKS has thus opened the way to the concept of “epilepsies with cognitive symptomatology” or “cognitive epilepsies”, denoting those epilepsies that manifest mainly or exclusively in the cognitive or/ and behavioural sphere without (or only rare) seizures.

About the Complete Book

Landau Kleffner syndrome (LKS) is a rare childhood epilepsy, characterised by a sudden or gradual loss of ability to understand or express language. Written by two world-renowned authorities on childhood epilepsy, this book is aimed at the large range of professionals involved in the diagnosis, therapy and rehabilitation of children on the EAS. The book includes vivid first-hand accounts of the impact of language loss by adults who have grown up with LKS.

Readership

Epileptologists, psychiatrists, psychologists, neuropsychologists, speech and language therapists and trainees in those areas.

Clinics in Developmental Medicine Series

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Thierry Deonna (Author)

Thierry Deonna is Emeritus Professor of Neurology at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland where he founded and headed the Child Neurology Unit at the University of Lausanne Children’s Hospital. His main areas of interest are childhood epilepsy and developmental disorders. He has written over 150 articles and book chapters on general child neurology, language disorders and epilepsy.

Eliane Roulet-Perez (Author)

Eliane Roulet-Perez is Professor of Paediatric Neurology at the Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne, Switzerland. She has been head of the Paediatric Neurology and Neurorehabilitation Unit at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois Lausanne since 2003. Professor Roulet-Perez has published many articles on her main interests : Landau-Kleffner syndrome, epileptic encephalopathy with continuous-spike waves during sleep and autism and epilepsy. She is currently a member of the International League Against Epilepsy Commission on Classification and Terminology of Seizures and Epilepsies.

Complete Book Contents
1 INTRODUCTION
2 HISTORY OF LANDAU-KLEFFNER SYNDROME (LKS)
3 CLASSIFICATIONS ISSUES
4 SPEECH PERCEPTION AND BRAIN ORGANIZATION OF LANGUAGE: RELEVANT FEATURES FOR LKS AND EAS
5 THE DIFFERENT CLINICAL FACETS OF LKS
6 DEVELOPMENTAL ASPECTS OF LKS /EAS AND THE OVERLAP WITH DEVELOPMENTAL LANGUAGE DISORDER AND AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER
7 EVOLUTION OF LKS . SHORT – MID AND LONG TERM OUTCOME
8 FROM ROLANDIC EPILEPSY TO LANDAU-KLEFFNER SYNDROME
9 LABORATORY (EEG,BRAIN IMAGING, GENETICS AND NEUROIMMUNOLOGY ) INVESTIGATIONS FOR LKS/EAS
10 PHYSIOPATHOLOGY OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE AND OTHER PROLONGED EPILEPTIC DYSFUNCTION IN LKS, ECSWS AND RELATED SYNDROMES
11 FUNCTIONAL NEUROIMAGING INVESTIGATIONS IN IDIOPATHIC FOCAL EPILEPSIES OF CHILDHOOD WITH COGNITIVE AND BEHAVIOURAL IMPAIRMENT. XAVIER DE TIÈGE, SERGE GOLDMAN & PATRICK VAN BOGAERT
12 DRUG MANAGEMENT OF COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENTS IN LKS AND OTHER EAS SYNDROMES
13 SPEECH AND LANGUAGE, EDUCATIONAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL REMEDIATION
14 PERSONAL TESTIMONIES AND UNPUBLISHED CASES
15 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

'The experienced authors of this book are to be commended for their comprehensive overview of the epilepsyaphasia spectrum, which presents a challenge in both identification and management despite having been described for decades. The book is illustrated with many case studies that enrich the more academic content and provide a resource for future hypothesis-driven research. A particular strength is the longitudinal follow-up into adult life of many cases originally presenting in childhood and the emphasis on the ‘whole person’; hence, this book is appropriate for primary care physicians, paediatricians, neurologists, psychiatrists, allied health professionals, and educationalists.' Michael Absoud and Gillian Baird, Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 2017

'This is a very readable summary of the literature and comprehensive knowledge gained through a career of study of acquired epileptic aphasia. The authors make the convincing case that the Landau-Kleffner syndrome as historically taught is but a severe form of what should be thought of as epilepsy-aphasia spectrum disorder of childhood. Included throughout the book are the limits of current knowledge and suggestions of areas of further research needed. This book was very helpful to understanding this area and why it is hard to understand. This would be recommended reading for anyone with questions about the epilepsy-aphasia link.' American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Development Medicine Newsletter, 2017

'This “tour de LKS” is not only useful for professionals dealing with LKS but also an enrichment for everybody interested in childhood epilepsy and especially in the relationship between epilepsy, neurological, and developmental aspects of language, cognition, and sleep. It is equally attractive for clinically as well as scientifically oriented child neurologists, speech, and language therapists, psychiatrists, neuropsychologists, and neurobiologists.' Bigna Katrin Bölsterli Heinzle, Neuropediatrics, 2017

'This is worth reading for professionals interested in epilepsy with any type of language symptoms and the development/recovery of language in children with congenital of acquired language problems.' Makiko Kaga, Brain & Development, 2017