Partial seizures evolving to infantile spasms.

We describe the clinical and electroencephalographic (EEG) manifestations of four patients with simultaneous EEG-video-telemetry recording (VTR) documented partial seizures evolving to infantile spasms. Clinical manifestations of the partial seizures included cessation of activity, staring, automatisms, increased limb tone, and laughter. In each case, partial seizures were followed by a cluster of infantile spasms. Infantile spasms preceded by partial seizures have not been previously documented.