Panayiotopoulos syndrome and symptomatic occipital lobe epilepsy of childhood: a clinical and EEG study.
OBJECTIVE
Panayiotopoulos syndrome (PS) is an age-related seizure susceptibility syndrome that affects the central autonomic system. Although the majority of the few ictal recordings obtained so far suggest an occipital origin, semiological and interictal EEG data appear to favour more extensive involvement. In this study, the characteristics (including those based on semiology and EEG) of children with Panayiotopoulos syndrome (n=24) and those with lesion-related, symptomatic occipital lobe epilepsy (SOLE) (n=23) were compared.


METHODS
Detailed semiological information and EEG parameters including the localisation, distribution, density (n/sec), reactivity, and morphological characteristics of spike-wave foci and their relationship with different states of vigilance were compared between the two groups.


RESULTS
The age at seizure onset was significantly younger in patients with symptomatic occipital lobe epilepsy than in those with PS (mean age at onset: 3.4 versus 5.6 years, respectively; p=0.044). Autonomic seizures (p=0.001) and ictal syncope (p=0.055) were more frequent in PS than in symptomatic occipital lobe epilepsy (87.5% and 37.5% versus 43.5% and 13%, respectively). The interictal spike-wave activity increased significantly during non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) sleep in both groups. The spike waves in non-REM seen in PS tended to spread mainly to central and centro-temporal regions.


CONCLUSIONS
The results indicate that although common features do exist, Panayiotopoulos syndrome differs from symptomatic occipital lobe epilepsy and has a unique low epileptogenic threshold related to particular brain circuits.
Department of Neurology, Ozel Yeni Iklim Hospital.
Gulten
G
Tata
Bakirkoy Mazhar Osman Research-Training Hospital.
Betul Tekin
BT
Guveli
Fatih Sultan Mehmet Research and Training Hospital.
Nimet
N
Dortcan
Haseki Research and Training Hospital.
Ozlem
O
Cokar
Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey.
Hatice
H
Kurucu
Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey.
Veysi
V
Demirbilek
Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey.
Aysin
A
Dervent
D017668:Age of Onset; D001143:Arousal; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004828:Epilepsies, Partial / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D002534:Hypoxia, Brain / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000150:complications; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D012640:Seizures / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012737:Sex Factors; D013577:Syndrome
EEG; Panayiotopoulos syndrome; occipital; semiology; symptomatic occipital lobe epilepsy