EARLY ONSET BENIGN CHILDHOOD OCCIPITAL EPILEPSY (PANAYIOTOPOULOS SYNDROME). A CASE REPORT

Abstract

The childhood epilepsy with occipital paroxysms and early onset or Panayiotopoulos syndrome is a benign focal epileptic syndrome,a benign disease, developing at infants. The disease has been described in 1989 by S. Panayiotopoulos on the basis of results of own observations, who has called this syndrome “benign night childhood occipital lobe epilepsy”. In 1996 N. Fejerman et al. offered the new name of the syndrome – benign childhood occipital lobe epilepsy, with earlier onset (Panayiotopoulos type), versus the childhood occipital lobe epilepsy, starting later in childhood (Gastaut type). The Panayiotopoulos syndrome occurs only at children, develops at healthy children without neurological disorders, the pick of disease falls on 4–5 years. The morbidity of boys and girls is almost the same. In most cases of the syndrome seizures take place during the sleep, 2 / 3 of patients report seizures only during sleep. As a rule, seizures last for more than 5 min, in 40 % of cases it last for more than 30 min, what corresponds (according to the consciousness level) to focal or generalized epileptic status criteria. To typical clinical syndromes at Panayiotopoulos syndrome are referred the ictal vomiting, as well as different vegetative symptoms. So, theictal vomiting, which, generally, is not typical for epilepsy, takes place in about 80 % of cases at Panaytopululos syndrome. Authors describe their own observation of the Panayiotopoulos syndrome at 5 years old girl.

Keywords

• childhood epilepsy
• idiopathic focal epilepsy
• occipital epilepsy
• gastaut type
• panayiotopoulos type
• etiology
• seizures’ characteristics
• diagnosis
• electroencephalographic data