EARLY INFANTILE EPILEPTIC ENCEPHALOPATHY - A LONG-TERM FOLLOW-UP-STUDY

The authors describe the eletroclinical aspects and long-term evolutio n of five (in one male and four female patients) cases of early infant ile epileptic encephalopathy. Tn the neonatal period, the most common seizures were tonic spasms (either generalized or lateralized) that, v ery often, occurred in series. All newborns showed the typical suppres sion-burst pattern. The neurological status (initially normal) progres sively deteriorated in the subsequent months, and all infants suffered from severe mental insufficiency and daily intractable seizures, Four out of the five children developed hypsarrythmia and one, Lennox-Gast aut syndrome, The authors discuss the main problems related to the sup pression burst pattern and the long-term prognosis of this abnormality .