Crossover phenomena in epileptic syndromes of childhood

Benign Rolandic epilepsy (BRE) and primary generalized epilepsy (PGE) are found at about the same period of childhood. Crossover from PGE to BRE and vice versa may occur; two short case reports provide further evidence for this development. Hence, transitions from a primarily generalized to a focal (partial) epileptic seizure disorder and vice versa is a possibility. Both PGE and BRE are based upon states of hyperexcitability, i.e. dysfunctional rather than structural abnormalities that are capable of changing their spatial distribution.