Reversible aphasic disorder induced by lamotrigine in atypical benign childhood epilepsy

Purpose: We studied an eleven year-old girl with atypical, benign partial epilepsy who acutely presented a severe aphasia associated with marked EEG deterioration after lamotrigine administration. A parallel monitoring of language disorders and EEG changes during the gradual withdrawal of lamotrigine was performed in order to evaluate their possible correlation with lamotrigine administration. Methods: Detailed neuropsychological and linguistic examinations in association with awake and sleep EEG were periodically performed. Results: The evolution of the aphasic disorder was closely related to the EEG abnormalities, and disappeared after the withdrawal of lamotrigine. Conclusions: We considered the hypothesis that our case could be an expression of a paradoxical reaction to lamotrigine, in which the transitory aphasic disorder was sustained by an epileptiform electric activation.