Severe psychomotor developmental delay resulting from early postnatal (within 3 months) seizures can be diagnosed as Early-Infantile Developmental and Epileptic encephalopathies (EIDEE). Its primary etiologies include structural, hereditary, metabolic and etc. The main pathogenesis may be related to the inhibition of normal physiological activity of the brain by abnormal electrical activity and the damage of the brain neural network. Ohtahara syndrome and Early Myoclonic Encephalopathy (EME) are typical types of EIDEE. The principle of treatment is to improve the cognitive and developmental function by controlling frequent seizures. When the seizure is difficult to control with drugs, surgical evaluation should be performed as soon as possible, and surgical treatment is the first choice for patients suitable for surgery. The types of surgery can be divided into excision surgery, dissociation surgery, neuromodulation surgery and etc. The current status of surgical treatment of EIDEE was described, and the curative effect of surgical treatment was explored, so as to help clinicians choose appropriate treatment methods.
Developmental and epileptic encephalopathy (DEE) is a group of diseases that severely affects the neurological development of children, characterized by frequent seizures and significant neurodevelopmental impairments. These diseases not only impact the quality of life of affected children but also impose a heavy burden on families and society. In recent years, the development of brain network theory has provided a new perspective on understanding the pathological mechanisms of DEE, especially the role of structural and functional brain networks in the process of epilepsy. This review systematically summarized the research progress of structural and functional brain networks in DEE, highlighted their importance in seizure activity, disease progression, and prognosis evaluation.
ObjectiveTo investigate the clinical electrophysiological characteristics of Cyclin-dependent kinase-like 5 gene induced developmental epileptic encephalopathy (CDKL5-DEE). MethodsThe clinical data and series of video EEGs of children with CDKL5-associated developmental epileptic encephalopathy (CDKL5-DEE) who were admitted to the Children’s Medical Center of Peking University First Hospital from June 2016 to May 2024 were retrospectively analyzed. Results A total of 16 patients with CDKL5-DEE were enrolled, including 13 females and 3 males. All patients had de novo variants of CDKL5 gene, including 6 cases of missense variants, 5 cases of frameshift variants, 4 cases of nonsense variants, and 1 case of large fragment deletion. The age of onset was 8 days (d) after birth ~1 year (y) and 10 months (m), and the median age was (85.94±95.76) days. Types of seizures at onset: 4 cases of tonic seizures [age of onset 10~52 days, median age (25.5±15.84) days]; There were 5 cases of focal seizures [age of onset 8 d~8 m, median age (77.76±85.97) d]. There were 4 cases of epileptic spasmodic seizures [age of onset 3 m~1 y 10 m, median age (6.25±3.49) m]; There were 2 cases of bilateral tonic-clonic seizures [age of onset 30~40 days, median age (35.00±5.00) days]; focal concurrent epileptic spasm seizures 1 case (age of onset 2 m). A total of 59 VEEG sessions were performed in the pediatric EEG room of Peking University First Hospital for 4 hours. All the results were abnormal, including 26 normal background, 25 slow rhythm difference with background, and 8 no background. The interictal was 16 posterior or focal discharges, 19 multifocal discharges, 17 generalized or accompanied by focal/multifocal discharges, and 7 hypsarrhythmia; The ictal was 33 epileptic seizures, 6 myoclonic seizures, 5 focal seizures, 2 tonic-clonic seizures, 2 atypical absence seizures, 2 tonic seizures, 1 myoclonic sequential focal seizure, 1 focal sequential epileptic spasm, and 1 hypermotor-tonic-spasms. The background of patients within 6 months of age was normal, and the background abnormality increased significantly with age. generalized discharges are evident after 2 years of age between seizures. Conclusion CDKL5-DEE seizures have an early onset and are refractory to medications. Epileptic spasms are the most common type of seizure in every patient and long-lasting, with generalized seizures increasing markedly with age. EEG is characterized by a normal background within 6 months. With the increase of age, the background and interictal discharges have a tendency to deteriorate.