Síndromes convulsivos en el periodo neonatal

Abstract

Abstract Neonatal seizures occur in approximately 1% of all fullterm newborns and can affect up to 20-25% of pre-term infants. The aim of this article is to do a state-of-the-art review of syndromes that present with seizures at the neonatal stage. We can distinguish two entities considered as benign: benign familial neonatal seizures and idiopathic benign neonatal seizures ?also known as ?5th day seizures?. There exist two other conditions associated with encephalopathy that have a poor prognosis: early infantile epileptic encephalopathy - Ohtahara syndrome- and neonatal myoclonic encephalopathy ?Aicardi syndrome. Lately, important advances have taken place in the genetic aspects of benign familial neonatal seizures; the most prominent of them are here discussed. Likewise, we deal with the clinical and electroencephalographic aspects of idiopathic benign neonatal seizures and the two entities that present with encephalopathy (Ohtahara syndrome and Aicardi syndrome) whose similarities and differences are analyzed.