Epileptic and electroencephalographic manifestations of guanidinoacetate-methyltransferase deficiency.
AIM: Describe the seizure-related manifestations of guanidinoacetate methyltransferase (GAMT) deficiency in two new cases and compare these to the related literature. METHODS: We reviewed the clinical and electroencephalographic manifestations of two siblings with GAMT deficiency. We also performed a thorough literature review of all cases of GAMT deficiency, using the PubMed database, and compared our findings to those previously reported. RESULTS: One sibling presented with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome while the second had manifestations of late-onset West syndrome. Based on a literature search, we found that the clinical picture of GAMT deficiency has been described in a total of 58 cases, including our two patients, 45 of whom had at least some description of EEG and/or seizure manifestation. Epilepsy was present in 81%, with age at onset usually between 10 months and 3 years. Drug resistance was observed in approximately 45%. Initial seizures were febrile, tonic, or tonic-clonic. Drop attacks and generalised seizures were the most frequent seizure type. Absence and febrile seizures also occurred. Less frequently, focal seizures and late-onset infantile spasms (one prior case) were observed. Multifocal spikes and generalised <3-Hz-spike slow waves were common while only one prior single case report of hypsarrhythmia was described. Lennox-Gastaut syndrome was common, while progressive myoclonic epilepsy was also, less frequently, reported. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this is the second report of the occurrence of West syndrome in GAMT deficiency. The majority of patients with GAMT deficiency have seizures and approximately half are drug-resistant. Late-onset of hypsarrhythmia and/or epileptic spasms could potentially prove to be a distinctive, albeit infrequent, feature of this treatable metabolic disorder.
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- Spasms, Infantile
- Neurology & Neurosurgery
- Movement Disorders
- Male
- Lennox Gastaut Syndrome
- Language Development Disorders
- Intellectual Disability
- Infant
- Humans
- Guanidinoacetate N-Methyltransferase
Citation
Published In
DOI
ISSN
Publication Date
Volume
Issue
Start / End Page
Location
Related Subject Headings
- Spasms, Infantile
- Neurology & Neurosurgery
- Movement Disorders
- Male
- Lennox Gastaut Syndrome
- Language Development Disorders
- Intellectual Disability
- Infant
- Humans
- Guanidinoacetate N-Methyltransferase