Intelligence Outcomes After Remission of DEE-SWAS

Children with DEE-SWAS often experience significant cognitive regression during the active phase of the condition, when abnormal electrical activity occurs during sleep. Although this EEG pattern typically resolves with age, little research has examined what happens to cognitive development after the abnormal activity disappears.

This study followed 17 children with a history of (D)EE-SWAS and found that all children with data from before the illness experienced a substantial drop in IQ during the SWAS phase. After the EEG abnormality resolved, cognitive outcomes varied widely: some children showed improvement, while others continued to decline. The findings reinforce that DEE-SWAS is a true epileptic encephalopathy that can alter developmental trajectories, and suggest that earlier onset of SWAS may be linked to poorer long-term outcomes.

Read the full article here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1525505025005463