The Authors describe a case of aphasia acquired in childhood together with epilepsy (syndrome of Landau and Kleffner) and treated for seven years. The patient had simple and complex partial attacks, motor dysphasia, frequent and heavy headache, and electroencephalographic paroxysmal anomalies with multifocal distribution. While the disease evolved with regression of disphasia and epilepsy, the EEG alterations persisted. In view of similar cases reported in the literature and the present treatment the Authors feel that syndrome is an inflammatory disease, its evolution being slow. The results of neuroradiological investigations support such hypothesis. The prognosis is poor (anomalies of speech persisted in 2 out of 3) and further studies are essential. A systematic use of cerebral biopsy is suggested.

Aphasia↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Reading epilepsy crises].

The authors describe two cases of "reading epilepsy" followed for nine and seven years respectively. In the first case the seizures consisted in an alexic aura followed by secondary tonic clonic convulsion; in the second case the seizures consisted in jaw clenching followed by loss of consciousness. In both patients neuroradiological studies including C.T. were negative and in both the seizures were controlled by anti-epileptic treatment. Clinical and electro encephalographic features tended to differ in the two cases and the authors review the literature on the subject. These observations led to recognise three groups of reflex epilepsy as follows: the first group includes focal secondary generalised seizures with parieto-occipital spikes and spikes and waves in parieto-occipital lobes; the second group includes seizures starting with jaw clenching corresponding with bursts of posterior sharp-waves; the third group consists of endogenous cases which can not be included in the other two groups.

Adult↗