title: Early-onset occipital idiopathic epilepsy: a syndrome to be treated?
abstract: The purpose of this study was to evaluate prognostic factors in early-onset childhood epilepsy with occipital paroxysms. We studied retrospectively a population of 46 patients, which was divided into three groups according to seizure frequency group 1, patients experiencing a single seizure (3396); group 2, patients experiencing two to six seizures (48%); and group 3, patients experiencing more than six seizures (20%). The mean follow-up period was about 5 years in the three groups. At the end of the first 6 months of this retrospective follow-up, the average number of seizures was higher in group 3 (2.9 seizures) than in groups 2 and 1 (1.8 and 1 seizure, respectively). We suggest that low seizure frequency in the first 6 months of follow-up could have prognostic value. We propose that the introduction of anti-epilepsy drugs be delayed for 6 months following epilepsy onset and be subsequently limited to patients with frequent seizure recurrence.
authors.affiliation: Child Neuropsychiatry Department, Neurological Institute Casimiro Mondino Foundation IRCCS, University of Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lanzi
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Longaretti
authors.forename: Antonino
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Romeo
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Capovilla
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Granocchio
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Viri
authors.forename: Pierangelo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Veggiotti
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000187:drug effects; D004828:Epilepsies, Partial / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009778:Occipital Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants