Genetics of Epilepsies with Focal Sharp Waves

J Gordon Millichap
1997 Pediatric Neurology Briefs  
Three patients with hypothalamic hamartoma and gelastic seizures were studied using ictal single-photon emission computed tomography and EEG recordings with depth electrodes at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Epilepsy Center. Precocious puberty developed by age 7, and the patients were large for their age, above the 95th percentile. Cognitive and behavioral abnormalities were revealed on neurologic examination, with impulsivity, irritability, and aggressive tendencies. Laughing seizures
more » ... began in the newborn period in 2 patients and before 6 years in a third. The frequency of attacks ranged from 1 to 5 minor episodes daily to 10 complex partial seizures each month. Interictal EEGs showed rare sharp waves from various areas. Ictal EEGs revealed diffuse theta. MRIs showed hypothalamic hamartomas, with
doi:10.15844/pedneurbriefs-11-7-12 fatcat:7x4tvnqberf3hm4ry3mkr7a4mi