Ohtahara syndrome
Background
Ohtahara syndrome: Early Infantile Epileptic Encephalopathy
Ohtahara syndrome is a rare childhood epilepsy first described by Ohtahara et al in 1976. Ohtahara syndrome is one of several severe epilepsy syndromes including West syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome that have been defined by the age of onset. Seizures often begin in the first ten days of life and usually before the age of three months. It is thought that Ohtahara syndrome affects about zero point two per cent of children with epilepsy. Boys are thought to be slightly more affected than girls.