Determining the neurocognitive profile of children with tuberous sclerosis complex within the Western Cape region of South Africa.
N M Berghoff, J M Wilmshurst, T A Page and 3 others
PMID 36788658WHAT IT FOUND
Children with tuberous sclerosis complex in South Africa showed severe difficulties in attention, working memory, language, and executive function.
Memory skills remained intact. These generalized deficits suggest clinicians should screen for attention problems even when not formally diagnosed.
Key findings
01Most children performed in the exceptionally low range for general intelligence, language, working memory, and executive function, while visuo-spatial and verbal memory remained intact.
02Attention and working memory deficits were common despite few formal ADHD diagnoses, suggesting under-recognition in clinical settings.
03Higher household income was associated with better performance across all cognitive domains measured.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Very small sample size (17 children) limits generalizability. Use of Western norms may underestimate performance in South African children due to cultural and linguistic differences. Exclusion of preschoolers and non-verbal children means the profile may not represent the full TSC spectrum. No control group was included, so it is unclear how these scores compare to typical development in this specific population. Missing data for some tasks due to participant difficulty understanding instructions.
Declared interests
No conflicts of interest declared. Funding was from non-U.S. government sources.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that intact memory scores indicate overall cognitive competence. The study shows that severe attention and working memory deficits can mask memory strengths and significantly impair language comprehension, meaning a child may remember facts but fail to understand complex instructions.