Migrating partial seizures in infancy and 47XYY syndrome: Cause or coincidence?

Migrating partial seizures in infancy (MPSI) is a rare epilepsy syndrome with poor prognosis. The exact etiology of MPSI is still not known. We report a 14-month-old baby with 47XYY karyotype who presented with developmental delay and drug-refractory seizures satisfying the diagnostic criteria for MPSI and discuss the possible association between the 47XYY karyotype and this syndrome. The excess of genes due to an additional Y chromosome could cause disturbance in various stages of formation, migration, or differentiation of neurons. Depending on the degree of disturbance and the resultant cortical excitability, this could result in various epilepsy syndromes. We feel that this association is more likely causal than coincidental. Chromosome studies need to be performed in more individuals with atypical and uncommon epilepsies. Multicenter studies are required to establish the association between epilepsy syndrome and these rare chromosome disorders.