Benign Familial Infantile Epilepsy

Epilepsy gene 'discovered'

Washington: Scientists have discovered a gene which they claim is responsible for causing epileptic seizures in some babies. Benign familial infantile epilepsy (BFIE) is known as infantile seizures that run in families.

Seizures commence when a baby is about six months old and stop by the age of two years. But what causes the rare form of epilepsy in previously healthy infants has so far eluded researchers.

Now, an international team, led by the University of Melbourne, says its findings have revealed that variation in the gene, called PRRT2, is one of the key causes for benign familial infantile epilepsy.

In their research, the scientists studied about 40 families from around the world. They found that families with BFIE carry a variation in PRRT2, which may cause the protein the gene encodes to form incorrectly....more