SCN1B-linked early infantile developmental and epileptic encephalopathy

Patients with Early Infantile Epileptic Encephalopathy (EIEE) 52 have inherited, homozygous variants in the gene SCN1B, encoding the voltage-gated sodium channel (VGSC) β1 and β1B non-pore-forming subunits.

Here, we describe the detailed electroclinical features of a biallelic SCN1B patient with a previously unreported variant, p.Arg85Cys.

The female proband showed hypotonia from birth, multifocal myoclonus at 2.5 months, then focal seizures and myoclonic status epilepticus (SE) at 3 months, triggered by fever. Auditory brainstem response (ABR) showed bilateral hearing loss. Epilepsy was refractory and the patient had virtually no development. Administration of fenfluramine resulted in a significant reduction in seizure frequency and resolution of SE episodes that persisted after a 2-year follow-up. The patient phenotype is more compatible with early infantile developmental and epileptic encephalopathy (DEE) than with typical Dravet syndrome (DS), as previously diagnosed for other patients with homozygous SCN1B variants. Biochemical and electrophysiological analyses of the SCN1B variant expressed in heterologous cells showed cell surface expression of the mutant β1 subunit, similar to wild-type (WT), but with loss of normal β1-mediated modification of human Na_v 1.1-generated sodium current, suggesting that SCN1B-p.Arg85Cys is a loss-of-function (LOF) variant.

Importantly, a review of the literature in light of our results suggests that the term, early infantile developmental and epileptic encephalopathy, is more appropriate than either EIEE or DS to describe biallelic SCN1B patients.