Seizure disorders in infancy and childhood

Of various topics concerning convulsive disorders in children, long-term prognosis of childhood epilepsy and developmental aspects of age-dependent epileptic encephalopathy (ADEE) were described. Recent progress in epileptology and introduction of effective antiepileptic drugs has allowed marked improvement in the prognosis of epilepsy. According to our long-term observation of epileptic children over 10 years, the remission rate for over three years was as high as 81.7%. Intractable cases were notably high in the West and Lennox syndromes. One of the main targets of child epileptology is ADEE, i.e. the West and Lennox syndromes in addition to early-infantile epileptic encephalopathy with suppression-burst (EIEE). The concept and categorization of ADEE were outlined with special reference to the developmental aspects of EIEE by a long-term follow-up study. Six of 10 cases of EIEE evolved into the West syndrome at two to six months of age, and two cases showed further transition to the Lennox syndrome at one year one month and three years one month of age. In accordance with the evolutional change in clinical seizure pattern, EEG showed an evolutional change from suppression-burst to hypsarhythmia and further development to diffuse slow spike-waves. These facts suggest a close relationship among these three types of ADEE and the significance of developmental aspects in the study of epilepsy.