Intelligence functions disorders in patients with complex partial epilepsy.

OBJECTIVES To compare the performance of patients with complex partial epilepsy with the normal controls in the subtests of an instrument used to assess intelligence function. METHOD Fifty epileptic patients, whose ages ranged from 19 to 49 years and 20 normal controls without any neuropsychiatric disorders. The Wechsler-Bellevue adult intelligence test was applied in groups, epileptic patients and control subjects. This test is composed of several subtests that assess specific cognitive functions. A statistical analysis was performed using non-parametric tests. RESULTS All the Wechsler-Bellevue subtests revealed that the intelligence functions of the patients were significantly inferior to that of the controls (p<0.05). This performance was supported by the patient's complaints in relation to their cognitive performance. CONCLUSION Patients with complex partial epilepsy presented poorer results in the intelligence test when compared with individuals without neuropsychiatric disorders.