West syndrome in three patients with brain injury and a benign course

Abstract

Infants with West Syndrome and underlying structural pathology typically experience persistent symptomatic focal seizures and intellectual disability. We performed a retrospective case review of 84 patients with West Syndrome evaluated at one institution between 1990 and 2013. From this group we identified three patients with West syndrome and congenital hemiplegia who later developed genetic epilepsy features and had normal intellectual development. This outcome is highly unusual and raises important questions about the relationship and possible influence of genetic epilepsy in patients with pre-existent West Syndrome and brain injury.

Keywords

• Benign neonatal seizures
• Cerebral palsy
• Rolandic spike
• Occipital epilepsy
• West syndrome