Abstract:
Objective. To develop preventive strategies for early neurological disability based on the
study of clinical and paraclinical characteristics of epileptic encephalopathy in early childhood.
Materials and methods. The study included 82 children aged 0–3 years with various forms
of epilepsy, among whom 39 were newly diagnosed cases. The patients were divided into two
groups: Group 1 — children with epileptic encephalopathy; group 2 — 47 children with other forms
of epilepsy (comparison group). The control group consisted of 20 healthy volunteers. The research
applied general clinical and neurological examination, the Bayley III neurodevelopmental
assessment scale, and instrumental methods (EEG, MRI).
Conclusion. The obtained results allowed the development of criteria for early diagnosis of
epileptic encephalopathy and its differentiation from other epilepsy forms. Immunological markers
— interleukin-1 (IL-1), interleukin-10 (IL-10), and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) — and
their association with clinical features were analyzed. Based on the findings, scientific and practical
recommendations were proposed to improve the effectiveness of early diagnosis and treatment.
