Benign familial neonatal convulsions: clinical features of the propositus and comparison with the previously reported cases.

A family with benign familial neonatal convulsions (BFNC) was presented. The propositus had his first episodes of cyanosis on the second day after birth. Thereafter, he also experienced multifocal clonic and/or focal clonic seizures. Between the seizures he appeared well and was essentially normal upon physical examination. Treatment with phenobarbital (4 mg/kg/day, p.o.) was started, and subsequently, he had no further seizures until 3 months of age. At the age of 4 months, he was again admitted to the hospital because of generalized tonic-clonic seizures. The findings of ictal EEG at that time were characterized by fast spiking with increasing amplitude during the tonic phase. During the clonic phase, there were repetitive bursts of spikes or sharp waves mixed with persisting muscle potentials. The termination of the convulsion was characterized by general voltage depression. Reference to previously reported cases of BFNC revealed that 10-15% of patients with this disorder had epilepsies later in life.