[Alternating hemiplegia of childhood (AHC)].

Background: Alternating hemiplegia of childhood (AHC) is a rare neurological disease of unknown aetiology characterized by recurrent paroxysmal attacks of side-alternating hemiplegias of variable duration associated with other paroxysmal dysfunctions. Paroxysmal attacks start in infants but neurological deficits become progressive with the age.

Methods And Results: During the last 20 years 8 patients (5 boys, 3 girls) with AHC were followed.

Alternating hemiplegia in childhood: a cross-sectional study.

Six patients with alternating hemiplegia in childhood (AHC) were followed, some of them up to childhood. Progressive intellectual deterioration and disturbance of pyramidal, extrapyramidal and cerebellar functions were found in all of them. Multimodal evoked potential abnormalities, changes of sleep structure and HMPAO-SPECT results were correlated with increasing clinical handicap.

A role of autoimmunity in the etiopathogenesis of Landau-Kleffner syndrome?

Four children, 3 boys and 1 girl, with the syndrome of acquired aphasia Landau-Kleffner were followed up during the last 10 years. In 3 children an episodic form of the disease with a good response to corticosteroid treatment and with a favourable prognosis was observed. In the other 1 no improvement of speech function was observed and also epileptic fits were reduced only with difficulty.