Epilepsy in autism and autisticlike conditions. A population-based study.

In a population-based study from Göteborg, Sweden, of infantile autism in children under age 10 years, we found epilepsy in 20% of the cases. Twice as many children among those with "autisticlike conditions" had epilepsy. All types of epilepsy were seen. Of the children in the study who had epilepsy, almost 75% (10/14) had psychomotor epilepsy. The association between autism-autisticlike conditions and epilepsy seemed to be with the behavioral disorder and not with the often concomitant mental retardation. Abnormalities evidenced on electroencephalograms seemed to be generated from the temporal regions and phylogenetically older parts of the brain in a majority of the cases.