What is the cause of benign epilepsy in children?

Many people do not understand what benign epilepsy in children is. In fact, there are many types of benign epilepsy in children, and each has different characteristics. Some only occur in a certain developmental period. The causes of benign epilepsy are also different. However, benign epilepsy in children has a clear genetic tendency, especially in males more than in females, and the peak period is at the age of nine.

1. There are several types of benign partial epilepsy in children, including central temporal lobe, occipital lobe and frontal lobe. The cause of benign epilepsy in children determines the characteristics of epilepsy: it only occurs in a specific developmental period, such as before and after school age, has a certain genetic tendency, no organic lesions in the brain, no abnormalities in intellectual and psychomotor development, clinical onset is partial and often occurs during sleep, and has corresponding EEG characteristics.

2. The causes of benign epilepsy are very complex. So, what are the causes of benign epilepsy in children? Childhood is the peak period for the onset of epilepsy, and there are many causes during this period that may induce epilepsy. The cause of benign epilepsy in children has a clear genetic tendency, with more males than females. It also has a clear correlation with age. It usually occurs between the ages of 2 and 14, with a peak at around 9 years old, and it will ease or disappear before the age of 16. The prognosis is good. This symptom group is characterized by brief, simple partial facial hemimotor seizures, such as brief tonic or clonic twitches of unilateral facial muscles, oropharyngeal muscles, and lips. It is often accompanied by somatic sensory symptoms, and some children with benign epilepsy symptoms may develop tonic-clonic seizures. Most of these attacks are related to sleep, and more than half of them occur only during sleep, while they often occur during the day when people are drowsy or in a resting state. During an attack, the EEG shows high-amplitude spikes and slow spike waves in the central-temporal area. These waves can be induced by sleep and are easy to spread.

3. In addition, childhood occipital lobe paroxysmal discharge epilepsy is similar to the epilepsy described above, but has no definite relationship with genetics. The attack begins with visual symptoms such as blackouts, photopsias, illusions or hallucinations, strabismus, etc. It is followed by hemiclonic seizures, sensory seizures or automatisms. A small number of patients may develop generalized tonic-clonic seizures. Some children with benign epilepsy have migraines, nausea and vomiting after the seizure. The electroencephalogram examination has obvious characteristics, namely, paroxysmal high-amplitude spike-slow waves or sharp waves appear during the seizure, which are rhythmically repeated in the occipital and posterior temporal areas of one or both hemispheres, but only appear after closing the eyes and disappear when the eyes are opened. Children with this type of disease usually have normal intelligence, and most of them can recover on their own around the age of 19.