A child with Friedreich's ataxia and epilepsy

J Child Neurol. 2005 Mar;20(3):248-50. doi: 10.1177/08830738050200031201.

Abstract

Epilepsy in Friedreich's ataxia is rare. We describe a 9-year-old boy with Friedreich's ataxia who had onset of symptoms in the second year of life and developed a generalized epilepsy at age 5 years. On cerebral magnetic resonance imaging, he has a subependymal gray-matter heterotopia. We suggest that his gray-matter heterotopia might be related to his diagnosis of Friedreich's ataxia and that his early onset of symptoms might be related to the length of his guanine-adenine-adenine (GAA) triplet repeat expansion.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Child
  • Epilepsy, Generalized / diagnosis
  • Epilepsy, Generalized / etiology*
  • Friedreich Ataxia / complications*
  • Friedreich Ataxia / diagnosis
  • Humans
  • Male