Tonic and myoclonic seizures in lennox-gastaut syndrome mistaken as complex partial seizures

Abstract

Five children with the Lennox-Gastaut syndrome had seizures consisting of staring, mental status change, and automatic movements associated with subtle repetitive motor jerks. Based on the clinical history and observations, the seizures were classified as complex partial seizures. Because of poor responses to treatment directed toward complex partial seizures, time-locked video/EEG evaluations were performed and correctly identified the seizures as clusters of generalized myoclonic or tonic seizures. These observations demonstrate that patients with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome may develop series of brief, repeated tonic or myoclonic seizures in which the behavioral phenomena are more pronounced than the motor activity. Successful treatment of seizures in patients with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome may require careful differentiation between seizure types.