Genetic epilepsy with febrile seizures plus: Refining the spectrum
- PMID: 28842445
- DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000004384
Genetic epilepsy with febrile seizures plus: Refining the spectrum
Abstract
Objective: Following our original description of generalized epilepsy with febrile seizures plus (GEFS+) in 1997, we analyze the phenotypic spectrum in 409 affected individuals in 60 families (31 new families) and expand the GEFS+ spectrum.
Methods: We performed detailed electroclinical phenotyping on all available affected family members. Genetic analysis of known GEFS+ genes was carried out where possible. We compared our phenotypic and genetic data to those published in the literature over the last 19 years.
Results: We identified new phenotypes within the GEFS+ spectrum: focal seizures without preceding febrile seizures (16/409 [4%]), classic genetic generalized epilepsies (22/409 [5%]), and afebrile generalized tonic-clonic seizures (9/409 [2%]). Febrile seizures remains the most frequent phenotype in GEFS+ (178/409 [44%]), followed by febrile seizures plus (111/409 [27%]). One third (50/163 [31%]) of GEFS+ families tested have a pathogenic variant in a known GEFS+ gene.
Conclusion: As 37/409 (9%) affected individuals have focal epilepsies, we suggest that GEFS+ be renamed genetic epilepsy with febrile seizures plus rather than generalized epilepsy with febrile seizures plus. The phenotypic overlap between GEFS+ and the classic generalized epilepsies is considerably greater than first thought. The clinical and molecular data suggest that the 2 major groups of generalized epilepsies share genetic determinants.
© 2017 American Academy of Neurology.
Comment in
-
The "plus" side of epilepsy phenotyping.Neurology. 2017 Sep 19;89(12):1202-1203. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000004399. Epub 2017 Aug 25. Neurology. 2017. PMID: 28842451 No abstract available.
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources
Molecular Biology Databases
Research Materials