Lara N, Pascual I
Servicio de Neurofisiologia Clinica, Unidad de EEG infantil, Hospital Universitario Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona.
Neurologia. 2006 Jun;21(5):269-74.
Reversible posterior leukoencephalopathy syndrome (RPLS) affects patients who are following immunosupressive treatment. It can affect children too, it can be irreversible and occipital seizures can be the main manifestation. We describe the EEG of five children who presented occipital seizures due to posterior leukoencephalopathy syndrome secondary to treatment with immunosupressives. They had different clinico- electrical evolutions.
Five children aged from 18 months to 11 years who had been treated with bone marrow, liver or kidney transplantation and one or two immunosupressive drugs: cyclosporine, tacrolimus. 4-50 days after the transplantation they presented arterial hypertension and low conscience. Occipital seizures or status were registered in EEG. Neuroimaging showed edema lesions in posterior regions. They were treated with antihipertensives, antiepileptics and substitution or reduction of immunosupressive drugs doses. Two patients presented further episodes and three of them had persistent abnormal EEG. Two patients had more than one status even though Cys A had been replaced by Tacrolimus or because the drug dose had not been modified. The Immunosupressive drugs are necessary for the transplantation's good outcome and they cannot be easily stopped.
Low conscience level and oculoclonic movements may form part of the subtle clinic of the occipital seizures, that may be the main manifestation of PLS in children who are following immunosupressor treatment. The realization of an EEG is indispensable for a quick diagnose and in order to achieve the reversibility of the syndrome. If we cannot get it, EEG will be useful for the evolution follow-up too.
