COMPLEX PARTIAL STATUS EPILEPTICUS IN LATE-ONSET MELAS

A patient with recurrent episodes of complex partial status epilepticu s and a distinctive pattern of periodic lateralized epileptiform disch arges (PLEDs) is presented. The patient was subsequently shown to have a mitochondrial disorder the MELAS type, a hitherto unreported associ ation. The case illustrates that CPSE should be added to the list of p ossible causes of acute neurological deterioration in MELAS patients.