[Benign focal epilepsies in infancy, childhood and adolescence].

INTRODUCTION. The last proposal for a classification of epileptic seizures and syndromes of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) includes recognition of several groups of epileptic syndromes and among them one of idiopathic focal epilepsies of infancy and childhood, and another of familial (autosomal dominant) focal epilepsies. The syndromes here described belong to these two groups and are: benign familial infantile seizures, benign infantile seizures (nonfamilial), benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BCECTS), idiopathic occipital epilepsy of childhood Gastaut type (IOEC) and benign occipital epilepsy of childhood Panayiotopoulos type (BOEC). Atypical evolutions of the cases with BCECTS, IOEC and BOEC diagnosed and followed in our group are described, showing that these conditions are not always so benign. Finally, the so called benign focal convulsions of adolescence are considered, even when they were not included in ILAE s last proposal.