Benign idiopathic partial seizures in the velocardiofacial syndrome: report of two cases.

We describe two children with the velocardiofacial syndrome and benign partial-onset seizures. Both presented with slight dysmorphic traits, mild to moderate mental delay, and high-arched palate. A cardiac defect was present in only one of them. In each patient, sporadic rolandic or occipital partial-onset seizures with the clinical and electroencephalographic features of benign idiopathic childhood epilepsy manifested at age 3 and 5 years, respectively. Treatment was started only in one patient, with complete seizure control. These two cases show that benign partial epilepsy can be a component manifestation of the central nervous system-related symptoms of the velocardiofacial syndrome. Copyright 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.