MedGen

KCNQ2-related disorders represent a continuum of overlapping neonatal epileptic phenotypes ranging from self-limited familial neonatal epilepsy (SLFNE) at the mild end to neonatal-onset developmental and epileptic encephalopathy (NEO-DEE) at the severe end. Additional, less common phenotypes consisting of neonatal encephalopathy with non-epileptic myoclonus, infantile or childhood-onset developmental and epileptic encephalopathy (DEE), and isolated intellectual disability (ID) without epilepsy have also been described. KCNQ2-SLFNE is characterized by seizures that start in otherwise healthy infants between two and eight days after term birth and spontaneously disappear between the first and the sixth to 12th month of life. There is always a seizure-free interval between birth and the onset of seizures. Seizures are characterized by sudden onset with prominent motor involvement, often accompanied by apnea and cyanosis; video EEG identifies seizures as focal onset with tonic stiffening of limb(s) and some migration during each seizure's evolution. About 30% of individuals with KCNQ2-SLFNE develop epileptic seizures later in life. KCNQ2-NEO-DEE is characterized by multiple daily seizures beginning in the first week of life that are mostly tonic, with associated focal motor and autonomic features. Seizures generally cease between ages nine months and four years. At onset, EEG shows a burst-suppression pattern or multifocal epileptiform activity; early brain MRI can show basal ganglia hyperdensities and later MRIs may show white matter or general volume loss. Moderate-to-profound developmental impairment is present. [from GeneReviews]

KCNQ3-related disorders include benign familial neonatal epilepsy (BFNE) and benign familial infantile epilepsy (BFIE), seizure disorders that occur in children who typically have normal psychomotor development. An additional KCNQ3-related disorder involves developmental disability. In BFNE seizures begin in an otherwise healthy infant between days two and eight of life and spontaneously disappear between the first and the sixth to 12th month of life. Seizures are generally brief, lasting one to two minutes. Seizure types include tonic or apneic episodes, focal clonic activity, and autonomic changes. Motor activity may be confined to one body part, migrate to other regions, or generalize. Infants are well between seizures and feed normally. In BFIE seizures start in the first year of life, beyond the neonatal period, and disappear after age one to two years. Seizures are generally brief, lasting two minutes; they appear as daily repeated clusters. Seizure type is usually focal, but can be also generalized, causing diffuse hypertonia with jerks of the limbs, head deviation, or motor arrest with unconsciousness and cyanosis. Infants are normal between seizures and psychomotor development is usually normal. In the KCNQ3-related developmental disability phenotype, individuals present with intellectual disability with or without seizures and/or cortical visual impairment. As little clinical information on these individuals is available, the clinical presentation of KCNQ3-related developmental disability remains to be defined. [from GeneReviews]

Autosomal dominant epilepsy with auditory features (ADEAF) is a focal epilepsy syndrome with auditory symptoms and/or receptive aphasia as prominent ictal manifestations. The most common auditory symptoms are simple unformed sounds including humming, buzzing, or ringing; less common forms are distortions (e.g., volume changes) or complex sounds (e.g., specific songs or voices). Ictal receptive aphasia consists of a sudden onset of inability to understand language in the absence of general confusion. Less commonly, other ictal symptoms may occur, including sensory symptoms (visual, olfactory, vertiginous, or cephalic) or motor, psychic, and autonomic symptoms. Most affected individuals have focal to bilateral tonic-clonic seizures, usually accompanied by "focal aware" and "focal impaired-awareness" seizures, with auditory symptoms as a major focal aware seizure manifestation. Some persons have seizures precipitated by sounds such as a ringing telephone. Age at onset is usually in adolescence or early adulthood (range: age 4-50 years). The clinical course of ADEAF is benign. Seizures are usually well controlled after initiation of medical therapy. [from GeneReviews]

Multiple congenital anomalies-hypotonia-seizures syndrome-2 (MCAHS2) is an X-linked recessive neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by dysmorphic features, neonatal hypotonia, early-onset myoclonic seizures, and variable congenital anomalies involving the central nervous, cardiac, and urinary systems. Some affected individuals die in infancy (summary by Johnston et al., 2012). The phenotype shows clinical variability with regard to severity and extraneurologic features. However, most patients present in infancy with early-onset epileptic encephalopathy associated with developmental arrest and subsequent severe neurologic disability; these features are consistent with a form of developmental and epileptic encephalopathy (DEE) (summary by Belet et al., 2014, Kato et al., 2014). The disorder is caused by a defect in glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) biosynthesis. For a discussion of genetic heterogeneity of MCAHS, see MCAHS1 (614080). For a discussion of nomenclature and genetic heterogeneity of DEE, see 308350. For a discussion of genetic heterogeneity of GPI biosynthesis defects, see GPIBD1 (610293). [from OMIM]

KCNT1-related epilepsy is most often associated with two phenotypes: epilepsy of infancy with migrating focal seizures (EIMFS) and autosomal dominant nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy (ADNFLE). EIMFS is characterized by seizures, typically focal and asynchronous, beginning in the first six months of life with associated developmental plateau or regression. Autonomic manifestations (e.g., perioral cyanosis, flushing, apnea) are common. Seizures are intractable to multiple anticonvulsants and progress to become nearly continuous by age six to nine months. ADNFLE is characterized by clusters of nocturnal motor seizures that vary from simple arousals to hyperkinetic events with tonic or dystonic features. Individuals with KCNT1-related ADNFLE are more likely to develop seizures at a younger age, have cognitive comorbidity, and display psychiatric and behavioral problems than individuals with ADNFLE resulting from other causes. Less common seizure phenotypes in individuals with KCNT1-related epilepsy include West syndrome, Ohtahara syndrome, early myoclonic encephalopathy, leukodystrophy and/or leukoencephalopathy, focal epilepsy, and multifocal epilepsy. Additional neurologic features include hypotonia, microcephaly developing by age 12 months, strabismus, profound developmental delay, and additional movement disorders. Other systemic manifestations including pulmonary hemorrhage caused by prominent systemic-to-pulmonary collateral arteries or cardiac arrhythmia have been reported. [from GeneReviews]

D-glyceric aciduria is a rare autosomal recessive metabolic disorder with a highly variable phenotype. Some patients have an encephalopathic presentation, with severely impaired intellectual development, seizures, microcephaly, and sometimes early death, whereas others have a mild phenotype with only mild speech delay or even normal development (summary by Sass et al., 2010). [from OMIM]

Developmental and epileptic encephalopathy-28 (DEE28) is an autosomal recessive severe neurologic disorder characterized by the onset of refractory seizures in the first months of life. Affected individuals have severe axial hypotonia and profoundly impaired psychomotor development. More severely affected patients have acquired microcephaly, poor or absent visual contact, and retinal degeneration; early death may occur (summary by Mignot et al., 2015). For a general phenotypic description and a discussion of genetic heterogeneity of DEE, see 308350. [from OMIM]

Diencephalic-mesencephalic junction dysplasia syndrome-1 (DMJDS1) is an autosomal recessive neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by progressive microcephaly, severely delayed or even absent psychomotor development with profound intellectual disability, and spasticity or dystonia. Some patients may have seizures and/or visual impairment. Brain imaging shows a characteristic developmental malformation of the midbrain; subtle intracranial calcifications may also be present (summary by Aran et al., 2016 and Guemez-Gamboa et al., 2018). Genetic Heterogeneity of Diencephalic-Mesencephalic Junction Dysplasia Syndrome See also DMJDS2 (618646), caused by mutation in the GSX2 gene (616253) on chromosome 4q12. [from OMIM]

Developmental and epileptic encephalopathy-59 (DEE59) is characterized by severe global developmental delay apparent in infancy with onset of various types of seizures in the first months of life (range 3 to 11 months). The seizures are usually refractory and are often associated with hypsarrhythmia on EEG, although brain imaging is usually normal. More severely affected individuals may be unable to speak or walk, have poor interaction, and require a feeding tube (summary by the EuroEPINOMICS-RES Consortium et al., 2014). For a general phenotypic description and a discussion of genetic heterogeneity of DEE, see 308350. [from OMIM]

Developmental and epileptic encephalopathy-81 (DEE81) is an autosomal recessive neurodevelopmental disorder typically characterized by onset of severe refractory seizures soon after birth or in the first months of life. Affected individuals show little developmental progress with no eye contact and no motor or cognitive development. Other features may include facial dysmorphism, such as hypotonic facies and epicanthal folds, as well as sensorineural hearing loss and peripheral neuropathy. Brain imaging shows cerebral atrophy, impaired myelination, thin corpus callosum, and progressive leukoencephalopathy (summary by Esposito et al., 2019; Maddirevula et al., 2019). For a discussion of genetic heterogeneity of DEE, see 308350. [from OMIM]

Developmental and epileptic encephalopathy-66 (DEE66) is a neurologic disorder characterized by the onset of various types of seizures in the first days or weeks of life. Most seizures have focal origins; secondary generalization is common. Seizure control is difficult at first, but may become easier with time. Affected individuals show global developmental delay with hypotonia, behavioral abnormalities, and dysmorphic features or ophthalmologic defects. Brain imaging often shows cerebellar dysgenesis. A subset of patients have extraneurologic manifestations, including hematologic and distal limb abnormalities (summary by Olson et al., 2018). For a general phenotypic description and a discussion of genetic heterogeneity of DEE, see 308350. [from OMIM]

Developmental and epileptic encephalopathy-61 (DEE61) is an autosomal recessive neurologic disorder characterized by the onset of refractory seizures in the first months or years of life. There is profound global developmental delay with intellectual disability, inability to walk, poor voluntary movements, spasticity, microcephaly, cerebral atrophy, and dysmorphic facial features (summary by Muona et al., 2016). For a general phenotypic description and a discussion of genetic heterogeneity of DEE, see 308350. [from OMIM]

A rare, genetic, multiple congenital anomalies/dysmorphic syndrome characterised by variable intellectual disability and/or developmental delay, epilepsy, generalised hypertrichosis, severe gingival overgrowth and visual impairment in some patients. Common craniofacial features include bitemporal narrowing, bushy and straight eyebrows, long eyelashes, low-set ears, deep/short philtrum, everted upper lip, prominent upper and lower vermilion, wide mouth, micrognathia, and retrognathia. [from SNOMEDCT_US]

Developmental and epileptic encephalopathy-116 (DEE116) is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by severe developmental delay, seizures, and white matter abnormalities but normal plasma and cerebrospinal fluid biochemistry (Jones et al., 2024). [from OMIM]

Developmental and epileptic encephalopathy-106 (DEE106) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by the onset of various types of frequent, often refractory, seizures within the first year of life. Affected individuals demonstrate profound global developmental delay with limited ability to move and severely impaired intellectual development with absent speech. Nonspecific brain abnormalities may be observed on MRI (Ni et al., 2021). For a general phenotypic description and a discussion of genetic heterogeneity of DEE, see 308350. [from OMIM]

A focal clonic seizure is a type of focal motor seizure characterized by sustained rhythmic jerking, that is regularly repetitive. [from HPO]