A case of Landau-Kleffner syndrome

Abstract

The Landau-Kleffner syndrome or the syndrome of acquired epileptic aphasia was first described in 1957. The disorder is characterized by gradual or rapid loss of language in a previously normal child. Acquired epileptic aphasia (AEA) typically develops in healthy children who acutely or progressively lose receptive and expressive language ability coincident with the appearance of paroxysmal electroencephalographs (EEG) changes. In most cases described in detail, a clearly normal period of motor and language development occurs before acquired epileptic aphasia symptoms appear. Because this syndrome appears during such a critical period of language acquisition in a child’s life, speech production may be affected just as severely as language comprehension. The onset of LKS is typically between 18 months and 13 years. The prevalence of clinical seizures in acquired epileptic aphasia (LKS) is 70-85%. The syndrome can be difficult to diagnose and may be misdiagnosed as autism, pervasive developmental disorder, hearing impairment, learning disability, auditory/ verbal processing disorder, attention deficit disorder, intellectual disability, childhood schizophrenia, or emotional/behavioural problems. An EEG (electroencephalogram) test is imperative to a diagnosis.

Keywords

• aphasia
• epilepsy