Confirmation of linkage of benign familial neonatal convulsions to D20S19 and D20S20.

Benign familial neonatal convulsions (BFNC) is an idiopathic form of epilepsy beginning within the first six months of life. Its genetic origin and autosomal dominant mode of inheritance have been suspected since its first description. Recently, the BFNC gene has been localised within chromosome 20q in one large pedigree. For the first time, we confirm here (with D20S19 and D20S20) the close linkage of BFNC to chromosome 20q in six French pedigrees. In addition, the existence in these families of several cases of febrile convulsions (FC), another epileptic syndrome with an autosomal dominant genetic component, led us to study the possibility of a genetic background identical to BFNC. Our results suggest the existence of different susceptibility genes for BFNC and FC.