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To try to understand the causative role of epilepsy per se in the developmental deterioration of brain injured infants, twenty-eight infants affected with early acquired, preand perinatal brain injuries were enrolled and divided into three groups, a) those with West syndrome, b) those with other non-West epilepsies, and c) those without epilepsy. Developmental monitoring consisted of a full clinical assessment, including examination of visual function, Griffiths developmental scales, standard EEG, longterm monitoring when necessary, and MRI, from the seizure onset or the first observation to the end of follow-up. Patients with epilepsy showed at study onset abnormal clinical features (neuro-logical and developmental) distinct from those of non-epileptic patients, partially due to the varying severity of their brain injuries. A definite differentiation between groups was observed in the clinical evolution that showed among the epileptic patients, mostly in West syndrome, a significant deterioration. Moreover, impaired visual function at seizure onset was possibly associated with a bad developmental evolution. A developmental deterioration, mostly in West syndrome, accounts for a causative role of the epileptic disorder perse, but in few cases it was also observed in infants with only a brain injury, suggesting other aetiopathogenic mechanisms. The predictive value of early visual function seems to be confirmed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study was to analyse the semiology of seizures in children with frontal lobe epilepsy (FLE) and to compare them with other paediatric cohorts described in the literature as well as with adult counterparts. We analysed 174 registered seizures of 18 cases under 12 years with lesional epilepsy whose frontal origin was defined by the concordance of neuroimaging and ictal electrographic findings, and confirmed by surgery in the six cases operated on. Seizures were generally short, with a high daily frequency and usually related to sleep. The most characteristic semiological pattern consisted of complex motor seizures, particularly hypermotor. Often seizures corresponded to a mixture of different semiological patterns (tonic, gelastic, automotor, hypermotor, versive) presenting in the same seizure, often as a unique type in the same patient. With regard to several aspects the semiology of FLE in our cohort looks like that reported in adult series, in particular as to the frequency of complex motor seizures. However, our cohort was also characterised by a more protean array of seizure semiology, stressing the occurrence of seizures typically present in adults (versive and complex motor) and of some seizure patterns more characteristic in children such as epileptic spasms; moreover, the rare occurrence of secondarily generalised tonic clonic seizures (SGTCS) was confirmed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]