Benign focal seizures of adolescence: a prospective study.
OBJECTIVE
To characterize the clinical and EEG findings and evolution of the syndrome of benign focal seizures of adolescence (BFSA), as described by Loiseau et al.


METHODS
A prospective study was performed in adolescents with normal clinical and neurologic examinations and normal neuroradiologic studies who had focal seizures that occurred isolated or in a cluster, with or without secondary generalization in the first 24 to 48 h after onset. None of the patients was treated with antiepileptic drugs (AEDs).


RESULTS
Between January 1996 and January 2002, 15 patients with BFSA were enrolled in the study. Median age at onset of BFSA was 14 years. Thirteen patients had focal sensory or motor seizures. In two patients, the ictal manifestation was motion arrest associated with oral automatisms. Eight of them evolved to generalized tonic-clonic seizures. Thirteen patients had seizures only when awake, and the other two, both when awake and during sleep. Repeated interictal EEGs were normal, but in four of the patients who had seizures in a cluster, we were able to record an EEG within 8 h after seizure onset. Two of these four patients had focal seizures, and their waking EEG showed focal centroparietal theta activities. The other two patients had secondarily generalized seizures, and their waking EEG showed bilateral theta activities instead. Prognosis was excellent.


CONCLUSIONS
BFSA is a well-defined seizure syndrome, recognizable by clinical and EEG features, as described by Loiseau et al. In teenagers with these electroclinical features with a normal neurologic examination and normal neuroradiologic findings, AEDs should be avoided.
Caraballo
Roberto Horacio
RH
Servicio de Neurología. Hospital de Pediatría "Prof. Dr. Juan P. Garrahan," Buenos Aires, Argentina. rcaraballo@janssen.com.ar
Cersósimo
Ricardo Oscar
RO
Fejerman
Natalio
N
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D017668:Age of Onset; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000502:physiology; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004828:Epilepsies, Partial / Q000145:classification* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D017029:Epilepsy, Complex Partial / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D004829:Epilepsy, Generalized / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology; D014851:Wakefulness / Q000502:physiology