[Clinical polymorphism of malignant epilepsy of infancy with migrating multifocal seizures (8 cases)].

Malignant migrating partial seizures in infancy are rare epilepsy syndrome that begins in the first 6 months of life and characterized by multiple continuous electroencephalographic and electroclinical focal ictal patterns which involved different independent areas of both hemispheres with arrest of psychomotor development. The present detailed review is based on the personal observation of 8 patients newly diagnosed at the Russian Children Clinical hospital, Moscow, Russia. At least three ictal patterns recorded from different independent areas of both hemispheres were fixed by video-EEG-monitoring in all patients. The high polymorphism and very frequent seizures (not less than five types at every child) were observed. The cases were pharmacoresistant, with the absence of reaction to antiepileptic therapy and progressive deterioration in 4 (50%) patients. Decreasing of seizure frequency by 50% was achieved in 3 (37.5%) patients treated with the combination of valproates, benzodiazepines and barbiturates and by 75% in 1 (12.5%) patient case treated with valproates, benzodiazepines and levetyracetam (keppra). The authors proposed a definition of this epileptic syndrome as: "malignant epilepsy of infancy with migrating multifocal seizures".