British Journal of Research

www.britishjr.org

Case Report Atypical Presentation of Benign Rolandic : A Case Report Madoori Srinivas*, Ramya C., Shanmuga Raju P. and Dikshitha K.

Department of Pediatrics, Chalameda Anand Rao Institute of Medical Sciences, Karimnagar, India

*Corresponding author e-mail: [email protected]

A B S T R A C T Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder in childhood. Five percent of children of estimated one or more in childhood, less than 1% have epilepsy. The incidence is high in preschool years. Benign rolandic epilepsy (BRE) or Benign Epilepsy with Centro Temporal Spikes (BECTS) is defined as truly benign partial idiopathic epilepsy characterised by partial motor seizures usually brief, infrequent with or without generalisation and onset during childhood. They occur mostly during sleep and these children recover spontaneously before adolescence without any neurological or cognitive impairment. We report a four year female child with Rolandic seizures who presented with abnormal behaviour and atypical EEG recordings. Keywords: Benign rolandic epilepsy, Centro temporal spikes, Abnormal behaviour.

INTRODUCTION Epilepsy is common neurological It is characterised by twitching, disorder of the childhood. It is characterised numbness or tingling of face or tongue and by recurrent, episodic, paroxysmal, may interfere with speech and cause involuntary clinical events associated with drooling of saliva. Seizures are focal and abnormal electrical activity form neurons. involve unilateral sensory motor function of Benign Rolandic Epilepsy is also called as face, speech arrest and hypersalivation is Benign Epilepsy with Centro Temporal seen. Consciousness is generally maintained Spikes or Sylvian Epilepsy. It is the most although may progress to become common epilepsy of childhood affecting hemiconvulsive or generalised tonic clonic. previously healthy children aged 4-13 years Atypical forms may present with with an incidence of 10-20 per 1,00,000 atypical manifestation such as onset at early children under age of 15. 1 age, developmental delay, learning

British Journal of Research www.britishjr.org Srinivas et al______ISSN: 2394-3718 difficulties, other , atypical term through normal vaginal delivery EEG abnormalities. 2-4 without any perinatal problems. Child was The same EEG pattern was later immunised till date. correlated with a common form of focal The Neuro Psychomotor childhood epilepsy, then called mid development of the patient was globally temporal epilepsy, characterized by normal. Child had presented with aggressive hemifacial and oro pharyngeal ictal behaviour two months back and a symptoms and a favorable prognosis. presumptive diagnosis of ADHD was made Because of the localization of the ictal by a Neuro Psychiatrist and child was on events to centro temporal area, Lombroso regular treatment with Sodium 2.5 proposed the term sylvian seizures in 1967. ml twice daily and then Haloperidol 0.25 mg In the same year, Loiseau and colleagues twice daily was started two days before she presented a series of 122 children with what presented to our hospital. The child they called a particular form of epilepsy in suddenly developed abnormal behaviour childhood, stressing its benign character and characterised by starring look, not able to highlighting clinical and EEG features. swallow food or drink water, drooling of Atypical and not so benign evolutions have saliva, not able to walk and not able to speak been reported in some patients with this to any one for about five minutes. When the form of epilepsy. 2 This form of epilepsy is child presented to the casuality in the now called benign childhood epilepsy with evening she was active and interactive but centrotemporal spikes and is placed in the suddenly developed ophisthotonus posture group of idiopathic localization-related with head turning to one side for about two in the International Classification minutes. There was no loss of consciousness of Epilepsies and Epileptic Syndromes. 1 during the episode and no post ictal amnesia. About 79 children with benign rolandic There was no history of fever. The child had epilepsy were reported who together had a head injury 6 months back. There was no more than 900 seizures over an 8.5 year history of vomiting, headache, period. There were no significant injuries. or loss of consciousness after the head A particular EEG pattern with injury. migratory spikes originating over Rolandic On Neurological examination the (Centro temporal or Mid temporal) region power was Grade 5 and tone was normal in was first reported in 1952 by Gastaut and in all the limbs. The reflexes were normal and 1954 by Gibbs et al. In 1958 the first signs of meningeal irritation were absent. description of clinical features in association EEG showed Fronto Centro Parietal with peculiarities of EEG in those children epileptiform discharges. CT Scan was was published by Nayrac. normal. With the history and EEG findings, diagnosis of Benign Rolandic Epilepsy was CASE REPORT considered and treatment with Sodium Valproate continued with appropriate dose A four year female child presented to and there were no fresh episodes. casuality with history of abnormal behaviour since afternoon. The child was born to non- DISCUSSION consanguinous parents, first in order of Benign Rolandic epilepsy represented birth, with other sibling normal. No family 9.6–10.3 percent of all childhood epilepsies, history of similar complaints and any determined at presentation and 2 years later. neurological diseases. She was born at full In its pure form, it is not associated with

BJR[2][1][2015] 048-054 Srinivas et al______ISSN: 2394-3718 structural lesions or severe neurocognitive drooling of saliva due to sialorrhoea and deficits. 5 saliva pooling. 7 The seizure lasts from less Familial EEG studies suggest that the than a minute to 2 minutes can spread to benign epilepsy with centro temporal spikes homolateral arm and rarely leg. 8 Sometimes follows an autosomal dominant mode of the seizures consists of a brief somatosensory inheritance with high but incomplete phenomena and in 4.3% cases seizures are penetrance and age dependant expression. partial complex. 9 Seizure frequency is usually Loiseau and Douche provided 5 criteria for low. diagnosis of benign childhood epilepsy with In children aged 2-5 years Hemi centro temporal spikes: 6 clonic seizures are more frequent, sometimes 1. Onset between 2-13 yrs age lasting from more than 30 to 60 minutes 2. Absence of neurological or intellectual followed by transient homolateral deficit deficit before onset generally not including face. 9 In all case intra 3. Partial seizures with motor signs, frequent venous Benzodiazepines immediately stop association with somato sensory status even if it is of long duration. No symptoms or precipitated by sleep. permanent deficits are seen. 4. A spike focus located in centro temporal EEG findings are distinctive and (Rolandic) area with normal background diagnostic in benign focal epilepsy with activity on the interictal EEG. central-mid temporal spikes. Focal di or 5. Spontaneous remission during triphasic sharp waves of almost invariant adolescence. morphology occur in the central and mid When awake, children experience temporal regions. Epileptiform discharges brief focal twitching of one side of face, usually are of high voltage (greater than 100 anarthria, drooling of saliva and parasthesia of mV), tend to occur in clusters, and activate face, gums, tongue or inner cheeks. These dramatically during sleep, when they may manifestations may be followed by seem almost continuous. In a single EEG, hemiclonic movements or hemitonic discharges may be unilateral, but with posturing. These diurnal seizures are simple prolonged or repeated recordings, they are and consciousness is preserved. Post ictal almost always bilateral. Lateralization may weakness of the involved face and limbs may switch in serial tracings. Generalized spikes occur. and spike-and-wave activity occasionally Most of the children have purely occur, although more often the spikes are nocturnal seizures that usually become maximal in either central region and are secondarily generalised. In such cases, the simply bisynchronous. No correlation has focal onset of seizures usually is not been found between EEG findings and observed, but parents are alerted by sounds of seizure occurrence or frequency. As a rule, secondarily generalised . EEG abnormalities are much more impressive The typical rolandic seizure is than clinical seizure activity. Indeed, when hemifacial, characterised by a clonic central-midtemporal spikes are recorded in manifestations involving hemi face, children without seizures, in whom EEGs are sometimes preceeded by unilateral parasthesia performed for other reasons, typical seizures involving tongue, lips, gums, cheek; the jerks eventually develop in only approximately half can be associated with a lateral tonic of the children. In symptomatic children, EEG deviation of mouth involving lips and tongue abnormalities persist long after seizures cease. as well as pharyngeal and laryngeal muscles Thus, EEG does not provide assistance in and result in anarthria or speech arrest and making decisions about when or how long to

BJR[2][1][2015] 048-054 Srinivas et al______ISSN: 2394-3718 treat. 6 Epileptiform activity may be and left central and parietal areas, left frontal augmented in sleep and rarely other focal area, and left frontal polar site. Figure 2 discharges or generalised spike waves have shows spikes in right and left frontal and been reported. Three quarters of Rolandic central areas. Figure 3 shows spikes in left seizures occur during Non-Rapid eye frontal, central and parietal areas and left movement sleep, often during transition. frontal polar site. Figure 4 shows spikes in Wirrell and colleagues published a right and left central and parietal areas and retrospective case series design of 42 children left frontal area. So it can be considered as diagnosed with benign rolandic epilepsy in Atypical form of Benign rolandic epilepsy. whom they looked for atypical features, The dose of Sodium Valproate was increased which they found in 50% of the patients. 4 and the child did not have any fresh episodes. These features do not coincide with those that we now consider atypical. Since then, more ACKNOWLEDGEMENT comprehensive and prospective studies have focused on the correlation between EEG We would like to thank Mr. C abnormalities and neuropsychological Lakshminarasimha Rao and Dr. V impairments in children with benign rolandic Suryanarayan Reddy, CAIMS, Karimnagar epilepsy. Atypical features in benign for giving for permission to publish the case childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal report and also Dr. Sanjay, Asst. Professor, spikes can be seen on clinical grounds like , Ramesh, Stenographer, Pediatric daytime-only seizures, postictal Todd paresis, department for their valuable help. prolonged seizures, or even , or in EEG features like atypical spike Conflict of interest morphology, unusual location, or abnormal Nil. background. 10 Early age of onset of seizures seems to be one of the most important items Source of funding among atypical features. 2 Nil. Treatment is often not necessary due to low seizure frequency. The first line drug REFERENCES used is Carbamezepine while Sodium Valproate, , , 1. Kenneth F Swaiman, Stephen Ashwal, Leviteracitam are also effective. Donna M Ferriero, Nina FS. Swaimans Prognosis is excellent. Remission Pediatric Neurology: Principles and Practice. with focal occurs within 2 to 4 yrs of onset nd prior to th the age of 16 yrs and rarely child may seizures. 5 Edition. 2012; 54:755-757. develop language and cognitive dysfunction. 2. Fejerman, Natalio, Caraballo, Roberto, In the present case the child presented at the Tenembaum, Silvia N. Atypical age of 4 years which fulfils the age criteria of Evolutions of Benign Localization- Rolandic epilepsy. The symptomatology like Related Epilepsies in Children: Are drooling of saliva, unable to talk, abnormal They Predictable?. Epilepsia . 1 April posturing also suggests that child may have 2000; 41 (4):380–390. Rolandic epilepsy but the episodes were only 3. Datta A, Sinclair DB. Benign epilepsy of during day time and the EEG showed Fronto childhood with rolandic spikes: Typical Centro Parietal epileptiform discharges which and Atypical variants. Pediatr Neurol . are atypical features of Benign Rolandic 2007 March; 36(3):141-5. Epilepsy. Figure 1 shows spikes in the right 4. Wirrell EC, Camfield PR, Gordon KE, Dooley JM, Camfield CS. Benign

BJR[2][1][2015] 048-054 Srinivas et al______ISSN: 2394-3718

rolandic epilepsy: Atypical features are paroxysmal discharges. Epilepsia . 1973; very common. Journal of Child 14:381-389. Neurology . 1995; 10(6):455-8. 9. Dalla Bernadina B, Sgro V, Fontana E, 5. S Lundberg, O Eeg Olofsson. Rolandic Colamaria V, La Salva L. Idiopathic epilepsy:A challenge in terminology and partial epilepsies in children. In: Roger J, classification. Eur J Paediatr Neurol . Burean M, Dravel C, Dreifuss FE, Perret 2003; 7 (5):239-241. A, Wolf P. Epileptic syndromes in 6. Loiseau P, Duche B. Benign childhood infancy, childhood and adolescence. 2 nd epilepsy with cantro temporal spikes. edition. London. John Libbey. 1992a; Cleve Clin J Med . 1989; 56:17-22. 173-188. 7. Lambroso CT. Sylvian seizures and Mid 10. Aicardi J. Atypical semiology of temporal spike foci in children. Arch Rolandic Epilepsy in some related Neurol . 17:52-59. syndromes. Epileptic disorders . 2000; 8. Loiseau P, Beaussart M. The seizures of 2:5-9. benign childhood epilepsy with Rolandic

BJR[2][1][2015] 048-054 Srinivas et al______ISSN: 2394-3718

BJR[2][1][2015] 048-054 Srinivas et al______ISSN: 2394-3718

BJR[2][1][2015] 048-054