Clinical dissection of childhood occipital epilepsy of Gastaut and prognostic implication.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Our aim was to describe the clinical and electrical features and the long-term evolution of childhood occipital epilepsy of Gastaut (COE-G) in a cohort of patients and to compare long-term prognosis between patients with and without other epileptic syndromes. METHODS: This was a retrospective analysis of the long-term outcome of epilepsy in 129 patients with COE-G who were referred to 23 Italian epilepsy centres and one in Austria between 1991 and 2004. Patients were evaluated clinically and with electroencephalograms for 10.1-23.0 years. The following clinical characteristics were evaluated: gender, patient age at seizure onset, history of febrile seizures and migraine, family history of epilepsy, duration and seizure manifestations, circadian distribution and frequency of seizures, history of medications including the number of drugs, therapeutic response and final outcome. RESULTS: Visual hallucinations were the first symptom in 62% and the only manifestation in 38.8% of patients. Patients were subdivided into two groups: group A with isolated COE-G; group B with other epileptic syndromes associated with COE-G. The most significant (P < 0.05) difference concerned antiepileptic therapy: in group A, 45 children responded to monotherapy; in group B only 15 children responded to monotherapy. At the end of follow-up, the percentage of seizure-free patients was significantly higher in group A than in group B. CONCLUSIONS: Childhood occipital epilepsy of Gastaut has an overall favourable prognosis and a good response to antiepileptic therapy with resolution of seizures and of electroencephalogram abnormalities. The association of typical COE-G symptoms with other types of seizure could be related to a poor epilepsy outcome.

Valproic acid and phenobarbital blood levels during the first month of treatment with the ketogenic diet.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess how the ketogenic diet influences the blood levels of antiepileptic drugs in the first month of treatment in a pediatric population with drug-resistant epilepsy. METHODS: The plasma concentrations of antiepileptic drugs were investigated in an open study on 36 consecutive children and adolescents (20 males), aged between 6 months and 16 years (mean age 4.7 years), who were put on the ketogenic diet because of medically refractory epilepsy. The plasma levels of antiepileptic drugs were determined 30 days and immediately before the diet and on days 8, 15, 22 and 29 after the start of the diet. The daily dose of each drug was not changed during the first month of treatment, while the daily dose of benzodiazepines was reduced by up to 30% if excessive sedation or drowsiness occurred. RESULTS: While plasma concentrations of phenobarbital did not change in the first month on the ketogenic diet (mean increase of 2.3 mg/l ± 1.0), valproic acid showed a slight but not significant decrease (mean decrease of 6.7 mg/l ± 3.2), 2 weeks after the start of the diet. CONCLUSIONS: Adjustments in the daily dose of either drug before the start of the diet do not however appear to be justified.

Startle epilepsy associated with infantile hemiplegia (SEIH): video-polygraphic features and long-term outcome.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the video-polygraphic features and the long-term outcome of epilepsy in two patients with startle epilepsy associated with infantile hemiplegia (SEIH). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Two patients (patient 1: a 14-year-old girl; patient 2: a 17 year-and-half-year-old girl), with hemiparesis and moderate mental retardation, underwent a full clinical and neurophysiological examination with video-polygraphic monitoring and recording of startle-evoked seizures. The follow-up was 9 years from epilepsy onset in patient 1, and 8 years from epilepsy onset in patient 2. RESULTS: Firstly, video-polygraphic recordings of startle-evoked seizures, triggered by unexpected auditory stimuli, showed tonic asymmetrical postures with ictal EEG characterized by an abrupt and diffuse electrodecremental pattern or a seizure discharge predominant over the vertex and anterior regions controlateral to the posturing limbs. Electromyogram recording showed a prevalent involvement of proximal muscles with a concomitant tachycardia and apnoea. In particular, in patient 1 ictal heart rate was high, with persisting tachycardia for 60-120 s after the end of seizures. Secondly, a high seizure frequency persisted throughout the course of the disease, as seizures were medically refractory to all currently available anti-epileptic drugs. CONCLUSIONS: The long-term outcome of epilepsy in SEIH, with constantly high seizure frequency, suggests an early surgical intervention, avoiding years with unsuccessful drug treatments and poor quality of life.