Seven school-aged children treated for temporal lobe astrocytomas with surgical resection and irradiation were prospectively tested to evaluate their intellectual, academic, personality, and neurologic status after therapy. At their most recent follow-up examination, neuropsychologic functioning was adequate in only two patients. The other five children manifested either intellectual deterioration, learning disability, mental retardation, or psychopathology. These deficits were associated with poor postoperative performance status, inadequate seizure control, tumor recurrence, and younger age at diagnosis. No pattern of intellectual, academic, or personality dysfunction emerged in association with left- versus right-hemisphere tumors. (J Child Neurol 1988;3:47-52).
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Abramson N., Raben M., Cavanaugh PJ: Brain tumors in children: Analysis of 136 cases. Radioloy1974;112:669-672.
2.
Cohen ME, Duffner PK: Supratentorial hemispheric astrocytomas, in Cohen ME, Duffner PK (eds): Brain Tumors in Children: Principles of Diagnosis and Treatment. New York, Raven Press, 1984, pp 173-192.
3.
Kun LE, Mulhern RK, Crisco JJ: Quality of life in children treated for brain tumors: Intellectual, emotional, and academic function. J Neurosurg1983;58:1-6.
4.
Mulhern RK, Crisco JJ, Kun LE: Neuropsychological sequelae of childhood brain tumors: A review. J Clin Child Psychol1983;12:66-73.
5.
Cohen ME, Duffner PK: Long-term clinical effects of radiation and chemotherapy, in Cohen ME, Duffner PK (eds): Brain Tumors in Children: Principles of Diagnosis and Treatment. New York, Raven Press , 1984, pp 308-327.
6.
Boll TJ, Barth JT: Neuropsychology of brain damage in children, in Filskov SB, Boll TJ (eds): Handbook of Clinical Neuropsychology. New York, John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 1981, pp 418-452.
7.
Lezak MD: Neuropsychological Assessment. New York, Oxford University Press, 1976.
8.
Filskov SB , Grimm BH, Lewis JA: Brain-behavior relationships, in Filskov SB , Boll TJ (eds): Handbook of Clinical Neuropsychology. New York , John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 1981 , pp 39-73.
9.
Wechsler D. : Manual for the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised. New York, Psychological Corporation, 1974.
10.
Jastak JF, Jastak S.: The Wide Range Achievement Test. Wilmington, DE , Jastak Associates, 1978.
11.
Wirt RD, Lachar D., Klinedinst JK, Seat PD: Multidimensional Descriptions of Child Personality: A Manual for the Personality Inventory for Children. Los Angeles, Western Psychological Services, 1977.
12.
Kaufman AS : Intelligent Testing with the WISC-R. New York, John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 1979.
13.
American Psychiatric Association: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, ed 3. Washington, DC, American Psychiatric Association, 1980.
14.
Horn J., Reitan RM: Neuropsychological correlates of rapidly vs. slowly growing intrinsic cerebral neoplasms. J Clin Neuropsychol1984 ;6:309-324.
15.
Aram DM, Ekelman BL, Rose DF, Whitaker HA: Verbal and cognitive sequelae following unilateral lesions acquired during childhood. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol1985;7:55-78.
16.
Camfield PR , Gates R., Ronen G., et al: Comparison of cognitive ability, personality profile, and school success in children with pure right versus left temporal lobe EEG foci. Ann Neurol1984;15:122-126.
17.
Long CJ, Hunter SE: Analysis of temporal cortex dysfunction by neuropsychological techniques . Clin Neuropsychol1981;3: 16-24.
18.
Woods BT: The restricted effects of right-hemisphere lesions after the age one: Wechsler test data. Neuropsychologia1980;18: 65-70.
19.
Mulhern RK , Kun LE: Neuropsychologic function in children with brain tumors: III. Interval changes in the six months following treatment . Med Pediatr Oncol1985;13:318-324.
20.
Boorgeois Btd , Prensky AL, Palkes HS, et al: Intelligence in epilepsy: A prospective study in children. Ann Neurol1983;14: 438-444.
21.
Rutter M.: Brain-damage syndromes in childhood: Concepts and findings. J Child Psychol Psychiatry1977;18:1-21.
