Pain & Central Nervous System Week via NewsEdge :

2008 JUL 21 - (NewsRx.com) -- "We report a three generation pedigree with 11 of 22 affected with a variant form of rolandic epilepsy, speech impairment, oromotor apraxia, and cognitive deficit (see also Rolandic Epilepsy). The core features comprised nocturnal rolandic seizures, interictal centrotemporal spike waves with early age of onset and late age of offset," scientists in the United States report.

"The transmission of the phenotype was consistent with autosomal dominant inheritance, with variable expressivity but no evidence of anticipation. We found evidence that the seizure and speech traits may be dissociated. No abnormalities were found by cytogenetic analysis," wrote S.L. Kugler and colleagues, Columbia University.

The researchers concluded: "Linkage analysis excluded loci at 11p, 15q, 16p12, and Xq22 for related phenotypes, suggesting genetic heterogeneity."

Kugler and colleagues published their study in Epilepsia (An autosomal dominant genetically heterogeneous variant of rolandic epilepsy and speech disorder. Epilepsia, 2008;49(6):1086-1090).

For more information, contact D.K. Pal, Columbia University, Mailman School Public Health, Dept. of Epidemiology, 722 W 168th St., 6th Floor, New York City, NY 10032, USA.

Publisher contact information for the journal Epilepsia is: Blackwell Publishing, 9600 Garsington Rd., Oxford OX4 2DQ, Oxon, England.

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