Seizure Types, EEGs, Age of Onset and Genetieal Background: Four Dimensions to Support the Scientific Approach to Epilepsy

Abstract

: As for RD (rolandic discharges) itself, Y. Gastaut reported in 1952 that there were many patients without any epileptic symptoms, who nevertheless showed biphasic sharp waves around the central areas in the fashion of a pseudo-rhythmic appearance. In 1967, Lombroso studied focal seizures of children in detail and reported a new symptom-complex in childhood epilepsy associated with characteristic clinical features and with such EEG abnormalities as RD. The Lombroso opinion was gradually accepted as a useful category of epilepsy by some European epileptologists and it was determined by WHO to term it “Benign Epilepsy of Children with Centro-Temporal EEG Foci [BECCTF]. The four dimensions, such as the seizure types, EEGs, the age of onset and the genetieal background which were seen in BECCTF, could demonstrate crucial aspects of epilepsy in general, though not in a clearly documented form. A reclassification or integration of subtypes of epilepsy may be necessary, according to the example of BECCTF. Therefore, regarding the problem of discontinuation of antiepileptic drugs, it is not reasonable to depend on such a naive descriptive classification; a more scientific judgment may be recommended. We must embark on a more multidimensional, scientifically oriented approach to this disease.