Evaluating the Effects of Medication on the ESES Patterns and Autism Traits in Non-Epileptic Children with ASD in Bandar Abbas, Iran

Background: Autism is a disorder that affects brain development, causing difficulties in social interaction, communication, and interests. ESES is a sleep-related condition linked to autism. This study examined the epileptic conditions in autistic children, their clinical response, and brain wave normalization following medication treatments. Methods: This clinical trial was conducted on children with autism who had initial EEG abnormalities during sleep. The children were divided into three distinct groups, each administered different medications. A pediatric neurologist monitored the children’s autistic symptoms using ESES assessments over 6 months. Ultimately, the effect of different medications on improving the children’s autistic symptoms and EEG patterns was evaluated. Results: Out of the 29 patients who participated in this study, 6 (20.7%) were completely removed from the autism spectrum, 21 (72.4%) showed a clinical response of more than 50%, and 2 (6.9%) did not show any clinical response. Additionally, the group administered sodium valproate showed the greatest improvement compared to the other groups. Regarding the final EEG results, 3 cases (10.3%) showed complete normalization, 24 cases (82.8%) exhibited suitable changes, and 2 cases (6.9%) remained unchanged. However, these changes were not statistically significant. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that sodium valproate and corticosteroids can improve EEG alterations in ESES and, as a result, reduce children’s autistic symptoms. However, due to the lack of statistical significance in the data, it is suggested that additional trials with larger sample sizes and longer follow-up periods be conducted to obtain more reliable results.