Effects of Exercise on Functional Performance, BDNF, Executive Functions and Sleep Quality in Children with Epilepsy

According to the definition of the International League for the Control of Epilepsy, a seizure is the emergence of temporary symptoms and/or findings as a result of abnormal, excessive and simultaneous stimulation of neurons in the brain. Epilepsy is a state of being prone to recurrent seizures; epilepsy is at least two seizures that occur without a cause that can be shown at the time and recur within more than 24 hours. Approximately one in 150 children is diagnosed with epilepsy in the first 10 years of their life, and the highest incidence rate is seen in infancy. A study conducted on individuals with epilepsy has indicated that exercise can create positive neuronal changes and reduce damage. In this context, 50 children with epilepsy between the ages of 6 and 10 who are being followed up at the Department of Child Neurology at Malatya Education and Research Hospital will be selected for the study and will be divided into experimental and control groups. In the randomized controlled study, the experimental group will be given mobile game-based exercise training, while the control group will not receive any intervention. Functional performance, BDNF, executive functions and sleep quality will be assessed in both groups at the beginning of the exercise and after the completion of the 12-week mobile game-based exercise intervention. Functional performance assessment will be performed using the timed up and walk test and the timed stair ascent and descent test. BDNF levels will be determined from the blood. The BRIEF-Parent Form will be used to assess executive functions. The Childhood Sleep Disorder Scale will be used for sleep quality. The aim of the study is to evaluate the effects of mobile game-based exercise training on functional performance, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, executive functions and sleep quality in children with epilepsy.