title: Absence seizures with intellectual disability as a phenotype of the 15q13.3 microdeletion syndrome.
abstract: 15q13.3 microdeletions are the most common genetic findings identified in idiopathic generalized epilepsies to date, and they are present in up to 1% of patients. In addition, 15q13.3 microdeletions have been described in patients with epilepsy as part of a complex neurodevelopmental phenotype. We analyzed a cohort of 570 patients with various pediatric epilepsies for 15q13.3 microdeletions. Screening was performed using quantitative polymerase chain reaction; deletions were confirmed by array comparative genomic hybridization (CGH). We carried out detailed phenotyping of deletion carriers. In total, we identified four pediatric patients with 15q13.3 microdeletions, including one previously described patient. Two of four deletions were de novo, one deletion was inherited from an unaffected parent, and for one patient the inheritance is unknown. All four patients had absence epilepsy with various degrees of intellectual disability. We suggest that absence epilepsy accompanied by intellectual disability may represent a common phenotype of the 15q13.3 microdeletion in pediatric patients with epilepsy.
authors: Department of Neuropediatrics, University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, Christian-Albrechts University, Kiel, Germany. Muhle@pedneuro.uni-kiel.de
authors: Hiltrud
authors: H
authors: Muhle
authors: Heather C
authors: HC
authors: Mefford
authors: Tanja
authors: T
authors: Obermeier
authors: Sarah
authors: S
authors: von Spiczak
authors: Evan E
authors: EE
authors: Eichler
authors: Ulrich
authors: U
authors: Stephani
authors: Thomas
authors: T
authors: Sander
authors: Ingo
authors: I
authors: Helbig
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002869:Chromosome Aberrations; D002872:Chromosome Deletion; D002884:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 15 / Q000235:genetics*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004832:Epilepsy, Absence / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D005820:Genetic Testing; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000150:complications* / Q000235:genetics*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D010375:Pedigree; D055815:Young Adult