Epilepsy in offspring of whom both parents have idiopathic generalized epilepsy: biparental inheritance.
BACKGROUND
Little is known about offspring of parents who both have idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE). This is of importance for understanding the complex genetic architecture of IGE.


METHODS
Families in whom both parents had proven IGE were ascertained through a multiplex families database. Clinical information including EEG recordings and detailed pedigrees was obtained.


RESULTS
In family I, the mother had juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME), and the father had IGE. One daughter had Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, and the other had unclassified epilepsy. In family II, the mother had JME, and the father had IGE. Two of three sons had an identical clinical picture of clinical picture of childhood absence epilepsy (CAE), but with fast polyspike-wave discharges on EEG.


CONCLUSIONS
The clinical phenotype of affected offspring suggested that their epilepsy could be due to the combination of a putative "double dose" of genes from both sides of the family. In such families, as epilepsy genes could be inherited from both parents, a high risk of epilepsy in the offspring could be expected.
Marini
Carla
C
Epilepsy Research Institute, Department of Medicine (Neurology) Austin and Repatriation Medical Centre, The University of Melbourne Department of Neurology, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia.
Harvey
A Simon
AS
Pelekanos
James T
JT
Berkovic
Samuel F
SF
D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000379:methods; D004829:Epilepsy, Generalized / Q000235:genetics* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010375:Pedigree