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Purpose: The aims of the study were to measure the social competence of well-functioning adolescents with epilepsy and compare it with that of their healthy peers as well as to analyze the effects of epilepsy-related variables on the social competence., Methods: Ninety well-functioning adolescents with epilepsy 12-19years of age were compared with healthy controls using the Achenbach Youth Self-Report Questionnaire measures of social competence. Within the group with epilepsy, the impact of duration of epilepsy, etiology, seizure frequency, seizure type, and antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) (monotherapy or polytherapy) on the above measures was also determined., Results: Twenty-five (27.8%) adolescents with epilepsy obtained Total Competence T scores in the clinical range, as opposed to only two (3.3%) of the healthy adolescents. There were statistically significant differences in the Activity and Social subscales and Total Competence T score between the group with epilepsy and the control group (p<0.05). Comparing T scores for epilepsy-related variables in the group with epilepsy, we found that there were statistically significant differences in all the social competence subscales regarding the seizure control and seizure types. No significant differences were obtained for other epilepsy-related variables: duration of epilepsy, onset of epilepsy, etiology, and AEDs., Conclusion: Our results indicate that adolescents with epilepsy are less active in clubs, socialize less with their friends, and have a poorer school performance compared with their healthy peers. This study shows that adolescents with epilepsy are at an increased risk of having difficulties in social competence., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The study aimed to investigate the type and etiology of epileptic seizures and the use of antiepileptic drugs for the treatment of various forms of epileptic seizures among adolescents with active but uncomplicated epilepsy at a tertiary referral center in Novi Sad, Serbia. The study design was cross sectional. Data were obtained from patients and medical records. A total of 103 adolescents (39 males and 64 females) with active but uncomplicated epilepsy were included. Patients with primary generalized seizures had significantly better control of epilepsy than those with partial seizures with or without secondary generalization. A total of 80 (77.7%) adolescents had no known underlying etiology based on initial diagnosis and evaluation. All adolescents were classified into known idiopathic syndromes (54.4%), non-classifiable cryptogenic etiology (23.3%), and secondary epilepsy attributed to MRI-identified lesions (22.3%). Eighty-eight percent of adolescents were taking monotherapy and 64.8% of these were taking valproate. New antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), topiramate and lamotrigine, the only drugs available free of charge at the Serbian market, were used in 19.4% of patients. A total of 57.3% adolescents were seizure-free, 24.2% had occasional seizures, and 18.5% had seizures despite AED treatment.