Biomaterial Database

The effects of antiepileptic medications on the social skills of individuals with mental retardation. 2004

Johnny L Matson, and Melissa A Luke, and Stephen B Mayville

Department of Psychology, Louisiana State University, 236 Audubon Hall, Baton Rouge, LA 70803-5501, USA. johnmatson@aol.com

Prevalence rates of epilepsy are much higher among persons with developmental disabilities compared to the general population. Anticonvulsant medication is the most common method of treating seizure disorders. Many of these antiepileptic medications (AEDs) are associated with various side effects, which may have detrimental effects on the social skills of those with developmental disabilities. The present study investigated the effects of AEDs on the social skills of individuals with mental retardation (MR) residing in an institutional facility. The social skills of 130 individuals were assessed by the Matson Evaluation of Social Skills for Individuals with sEvere Retardation (MESSIER). Sixty-five of these individuals were diagnosed with a seizure disorder and received only one AED at the time of this study. These individuals were taking one of three AEDs (carbamazepine, valproic acid, or phenytoin). Participants belonging to one of these three medication groups were matched with residents for age, gender, level of MR and race, who did not have seizures or receive AEDs. MESSIER scores of each medication group were compared to its respective control group. Those individuals receiving phenytoin presented less positive social skills than their matched counterparts in the phenytoin-control group.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008297	Male		Males
D008607	Intellectual Disability	Subnormal intellectual functioning which originates during the developmental period. This has multiple potential etiologies, including genetic defects and perinatal insults. Intelligence quotient (IQ) scores are commonly used to determine whether an individual has an intellectual disability. IQ scores between 70 and 79 are in the borderline range. Scores below 67 are in the disabled range. (from Joynt, Clinical Neurology, 1992, Ch55, p28)	Disability, Intellectual,Idiocy,Mental Retardation,Retardation, Mental,Deficiency, Mental,Intellectual Development Disorder,Mental Deficiency,Mental Retardation, Psychosocial,Deficiencies, Mental,Development Disorder, Intellectual,Development Disorders, Intellectual,Disabilities, Intellectual,Disorder, Intellectual Development,Disorders, Intellectual Development,Intellectual Development Disorders,Intellectual Disabilities,Mental Deficiencies,Mental Retardations, Psychosocial,Psychosocial Mental Retardation,Psychosocial Mental Retardations,Retardation, Psychosocial Mental,Retardations, Psychosocial Mental
D008875	Middle Aged	An adult aged 45 - 64 years.	Middle Age
D011795	Surveys and Questionnaires	Collections of data obtained from voluntary subjects. The information usually takes the form of answers to questions, or suggestions.	Community Survey,Nonrespondent,Questionnaire,Questionnaires,Respondent,Survey,Survey Method,Survey Methods,Surveys,Baseline Survey,Community Surveys,Methodology, Survey,Nonrespondents,Questionnaire Design,Randomized Response Technique,Repeated Rounds of Survey,Respondents,Survey Methodology,Baseline Surveys,Design, Questionnaire,Designs, Questionnaire,Methods, Survey,Questionnaire Designs,Questionnaires and Surveys,Randomized Response Techniques,Response Technique, Randomized,Response Techniques, Randomized,Survey, Baseline,Survey, Community,Surveys, Baseline,Surveys, Community,Techniques, Randomized Response
D002648	Child	A person 6 to 12 years of age. An individual 2 to 5 years old is CHILD, PRESCHOOL.	Children
D004827	Epilepsy	A disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of paroxysmal brain dysfunction due to a sudden, disorderly, and excessive neuronal discharge. Epilepsy classification systems are generally based upon: (1) clinical features of the seizure episodes (e.g., motor seizure), (2) etiology (e.g., post-traumatic), (3) anatomic site of seizure origin (e.g., frontal lobe seizure), (4) tendency to spread to other structures in the brain, and (5) temporal patterns (e.g., nocturnal epilepsy). (From Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, p313)	Aura,Awakening Epilepsy,Seizure Disorder,Epilepsy, Cryptogenic,Auras,Cryptogenic Epilepsies,Cryptogenic Epilepsy,Epilepsies,Epilepsies, Cryptogenic,Epilepsy, Awakening,Seizure Disorders
D005260	Female		Females
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000328	Adult	A person having attained full growth or maturity. Adults are of 19 through 44 years of age. For a person between 19 and 24 years of age, YOUNG ADULT is available.	Adults
D000368	Aged	A person 65 years of age or older. For a person older than 79 years, AGED, 80 AND OVER is available.	Elderly