Spectrum of EEG findings in Menkes disease.

We evaluated electroencephalograms (EEGs) in 10 boys with Menkes disease, ranging in age from 9 days to 27 months. Three of 10 tracings were normal (the newborn, his 27-month-old half-brother with the classic phenotype, and a 27-month-old mildly affected patient). Plasma copper levels were low in all patients except the newborn and tended to be lowest in patients whose EEGs were moderately or severely abnormal. EEG differences in Menkes patients could reflect biochemical and molecular heterogeneity with respect to copper availability and utilization in the brain.