[Idiopathic epileptic syndromes of the newborn]

Seizures during the neonatal period are the characteristic clinical expression of dysfunction of the nervous system. Not all the seizures seen during the neonatal period are due to epilepsy which only occurs in 10%.

The aetiology of neonatal seizures is very varied and is mainly due to different types of aggression to the brain during this early stage of life. Epileptic syndromes are very rare during the neonatal period. In general the prognosis is very bad as occurs in infantile epileptic encephalopathy of early onset or myoclonic encephalopathy of early onset. However, the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) has identified and recognized some idiopathic epileptic syndromes of the neonatal period with a somewhat better prognosis. Two major groups have been established including the benign neonatal epilepsies (benign idiopathic neonatal epilepsies and benign familial neonatal seizures) and the group of status epilepticus (severe idiopathic status epilepticus).

We analyze the different types of epilepsy of the newborn, form of onset, current knowledge of molecular biology, treatment and prognosis.