Landau-Kleffner Syndrome

Excerpt

Landau-Kleffner syndrome (LKS) is a rare age-related epileptic encephalopathy, characterized by a developmental regression in the area of language, and electroencephalogram (EEG) anomalies located mainly around the temporoparietal areas. When present, the seizures consist of absence seizures or tonic-clonic episodes and occur more frequently during sleep. Behavioral disorders may form part of the clinical picture. The syndrome, described in 1957, is also indicated as acquired aphasia with epilepsy (ICD-10, F80.3) for outlining the main signs of this disease. It is considered a form of continuous spike-waves during slow sleep syndrome (CSWS), although the two syndromes have a different clinical presentation and diagnostic significance.