Study Suggests Recurrence Risk in Offspring for Adults with Mild Dravet Syndrome

A recent study examined two unrelated fathers whose severe childhood epilepsy is compatible with a possible diagnosis of Dravet syndrome, each of whom has a child with Dravet syndrome. Both children had a pathogenic mutation of the SCN1A gene. The researchers conclude that "[a] mild form of Dravet syndrome in adult patients is associated with a high recurrence risk and possibly a more severe epilepsy phenotype in their offspring." (N. E. Verbeek, et al., "Adults with a history of possible Dravet syndrome: an illustration of the importance of analysis of the SCN1A gene," Epilepsia, Vol. 52 No. 4), April 2011, pp, e23-5.)

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