Interictal Paroxysmal Epileptic Discharges during Sleep in Childhood: Phenotypic Variability in a Family

Summary:  We report three children of the same parents who exhibited various types of cognitive disorders, ranging from severe mental deficiency with transient autistic‐like regression to specific neuropsychological disabilities, associated with paroxysmal EEG abnormalities with various patterns of severity. This familial association highly suggests a genetic factor responsible for both epileptic discharges on EEG and cognitive dysfunction.