Partial Epilepsy with Seizures Appearing in the First Three Years of Life

Abstract

We reviewed records of 5,000 epileptic patients and identified 154 cases of partial epilepsy with seizure onset in the first 3 years of life. Of these, 35 patients had initial partial seizures. In 57 patients, partial seizures were preceded by a hemiclonic seizure, which manifested as status epilepticus in 70%. Generalized seizures were the initial manifestation in 62 patients; 17 grand mal, 14 clonic or myoclonic, and 31 tonic or atonic seizures. Of the 119 patients, 31 showed a seizure- free interval of several years between the initial seizure and the occurrence of partial epilepsy. The atypical initial clinical presentation and the seizure-free interval before occurrence of more characteristic partial seizures raise the possibility that the diagnosis of partial epilepsies in the first years of life may be missed.