Benign partial epilepsies of adolescence: a report of 37 new cases

To delineate the electroclinical features of patients with partial seizures in adolescence with a benign outcome.

Patients were recruited in five different Italian epilepsy centers. Patients were selected among those with partial seizures between ages 11 and 17 years. We excluded benign childhood epilepsies, those with neurologic or mental deficits, and those with neuroradiologically documented lesions. We also excluded patients with less than 3 years' follow-up or who were still receiving antiepileptic therapy.

There were 37 (22 male, 15 female) patients. Seizures started at the mean age of 14.5 years (range, 11-16.11). Two main electroclinical patterns emerged: 16 of 37 patients had somatomotor seizures frequently associated with focal theta discharges involving the centroparietal regions. Ten of 37 patients showed versive seizures and interictal spiking involving the posterior regions. A third group had clinical characteristics resembling the cases described by Loiseau. All had a favorable outcome.

This relevant multicenter study further confirms the existence of benign partial epilepsies with onset during adolescence.