A thirteen-year-old boy with nominal aphasia caused by simple partial status epilepticus is described.
The aphasia disappeared with intravenous diazepam and has improved on oral carbamazepine. His epilepsy is probably secondary to the cranial irradiation and intrathecal methotrexate that he received as treatment for his Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia at the age of nine.
Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia - Aphasia - Status epilepticus - Cranial irradiation