Self-limited neonatal epilepsy …

Epilepsy & Seizures

Updated 01.26.2026
Released 10.18.1993
Expires For CME 01.26.2029

Self-limited neonatal epilepsy

Authors: Henry Hasson MD, Solomon L Moshé MD

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Editor: Solomon L Moshé MD

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Self-limited neonatal epilepsy

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Introduction

Overview

Self-limited neonatal epilepsy is a syndrome characterized by clonic seizures that begin around the fifth day of life and may recur during the following 2 to 3 days. It is a benign syndrome, but its diagnosis requires a workup to eliminate other potentially more serious epileptic syndromes during this period. In the following article, the authors discuss many issues related to this syndrome, including etiology, pathogenesis and pathophysiology, epidemiology, and differential diagnosis.

Historical note and terminology

This syndrome was first described by Dehan and colleagues in 1977. They reported a neonatal convulsive disorder of unknown etiology that occurs around the fifth day of life and is associated with a favorable outcome (04). In 1989, the Commission on Classification and Terminology of the International League Against Epilepsy proposed the term "benign neonatal seizures" (02). Currently, it is classified under the idiopathic generalized epilepsies, although partial seizures are common. Indeed, Watanabe and colleagues reported only partial seizures in 16 infants with the syndrome (30), raising questions about the accuracy of the inclusion of self-limited (benign neonatal) seizures under self-limited neonatal epilepsy.

Three de novo mutations in KCNQ2 were found in four patients with self-limited (benign) neonatal seizures without a family history (03). Another de novo mutation was reported in a neonate with self-limited neonatal infantile seizures and no family history of seizures (11). Because mutations in KCNQ2 have been described in patients with self-limited familial neonatal infantile seizures, these data suggest an overlap between the two syndromes.

Clinical manifestations

Presentation and course

Seizures occur between the first and seventh day of life in otherwise normal, full-term infants born after an uncomplicated, normal pregnancy, labor, and delivery. There is no family history of neonatal seizures. In 80% of cases, the seizures occur between the fourth and sixth days (hence, "fifth-day fits"). The seizures are most often clonic, usually partial, and occur with or without apnea. They are often unilateral and may change sides. It is thought that tonic seizures do not occur (23), but an infant with tonic-clonic seizures has been reported (09). Individual seizures may last from 1 to 3 minutes and recur in clusters, leading to status epilepticus, which may persist from 2 hours to 3 days (the reported mean duration of the seizures is 20 hours). Affected infants may become postictally drowsy and hypotonic for several days; however, the drowsiness and hypotonia may result from concomitant antiepileptic drug administration (23). Even though infants may experience prolonged status epilepticus, complete recovery usually follows (25).

Prognosis and complications

Although long-term prospective follow-up of neonatal seizures is lacking, the general agreement is that the outcome is favorable (19). Plouin, however, reported mild psychomotor retardation in some cases (23). Seizure recurrences have been infrequent (14).

Clinical vignette

A 4-day-old girl presented with abnormal movements. Some witnessed episodes were described as bicycling movements of legs and arms with lip smacking. The movements were forceful and rhythmic, unable to be suppressed, and lasted between 2 and 5 minutes each. Initially lorazepam (0.3 mg) was given to stop the movements. Pyridoxine administration did not stop the seizures. On day 5 of life she developed status epilepticus; she was intubated and treated successfully with phenobarbital (20 mg/kg). She was the product of a full-term uncomplicated gestation, delivered by normal, spontaneous, vaginal delivery. There was no family history of neonatal seizures or any other neurologic disease. Physical examination was unremarkable. Serum electrolytes and glucose were normal. There was no evidence for sepsis and lumbar puncture was normal. Her EEG showed the classic theta pointu alternant pattern. She was discharged from the hospital on tapering doses of phenobarbital. At last follow up, 5 years later, she remained seizure free and had a normal development.

Diagnostic workup

The most common (60%) interictal EEG pattern of self-limited neonatal seizures is the "theta pointu alternant" pattern (23). It consists of nonreactive dominant theta wave activity in the 4 to 7 Hz range, which alternates with sharp waves. The pattern is present during wakefulness or sleep and may be discontinuous and alternate between hemispheres. It may persist for 12 days after the cessation of seizures. "Theta pointu alternant" is not specific for the self-limited benign neonatal seizures. It can also occur with other neonatal seizures, such as hypocalcemia, meningitis, subarachnoid hemorrhage (17), a variety of encephalopathies including hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (29), and even self-limited familial neonatal seizures (01). Other EEG patterns that have been described in this syndrome include focal or multifocal, nonspecific abnormalities (25%), centrotemporal spikes, or a discontinuous pattern (5%). In 10% of the cases, the EEG may be normal (23). The paroxysmal EEG discharge may be unilateral, bilateral, or first localized and then bilateral (16). Thus, the ictal EEG shows rhythmic spikes or slow waves, which can be localized to any area but are most commonly seen in the rolandic regions. Seizures originating from the frontocentral area during active sleep have been reported (09). It has been shown that some patients with KCNQ2 mutations may develop epileptic encephalopathy leading to profound intellectual disability with motor impairment, although epilepsy appears to resolve by 3 years of age. The initial EEGs showed a burst suppression pattern or multifocal discharges. MRI of the brain showed characteristic hyperintensities in the basal ganglia and thalamus early on that later resolved (31). There is also a case report of a girl with a history of self-limited neonatal seizures who later developed benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes and was found to have a KCNQ2 mutation (12). One report suggests that mutations on the S2 and S3 regions of KCNQ2 are usually associated with self-limited neonatal seizures whereas mutations in S6 and adjacent regions are more likely to be associated with the more severe KCNQ2 encephalopathy (08).

References

01: Alvarez LA, Lipton R, Spiro A, Moshe SL. Theta pointu alternant in benign familial neonatal convulsions. Neurology 1986;36(SuppI 1):90.
02: Anonymous. Proposal for revised classification of epilepsies and epileptic syndromes. Commission on Classification and Terminology of the International League Against Epilepsy. Epilepsia 1989;30(4):389-99. PMID 2502382
03: Claes LR, Ceulemans B, Audenaert D, et al. De novo KCNQ2 mutations in patients with benign neonatal seizures. Neurology 2004;63(11):2155-8. PMID 15596769
04: Dehan M, Quilleron D, Navelet Y, et al. Les convulsions du 5e jour de vie: un nouveau syndrome. Arch Fr Pediatr 1977;34:730-42. PMID 931532
05: Galanopoulou AS, Vidaurre J, Moshe SL. Under what circumstances can seizures produce hippocampal injury: evidence for age-specific effects Dev Neurosci 2002;24(5):355-63. PMID 12640173
06: Goldberg HJ, Sheehy EM. Fifth day fits: an acute zinc deficiency syndrome. Arch Dis Child 1982;57:633-5. PMID 7114883
07: Gonzalez Ipina M, Roche Herrero MC, Lopez Martin V, et al. Benign neonatal convulsions. Review of 23 cases. Neurologia 1996;11(2):51-5. PMID 8652192
08: Goto A, Ishii A, Shibata M, Ihara Y, Cooper E, Hirose S. Characteristics of KCNQ2 variants causing either benign neonatal epilepsy or developmental and epileptic encephalopathy. Epilepsia 2019;60(9):1870-80. PMID 31418850
09: Guerra MP, Wilson GA, Boylan GB, Rennie JM. An unusual presentation of fifth-day fits in the newborn. Pediatr Neurol 2002;26(5):398-401. PMID 12057804
10: Herrmann B, Lawrenz-Wolf B, Seewald C, Selb B, Wehinger H. 5- Tages-Krampfe des neugeborenen bei rotavirusinfektionen. Monatss-chr Kinderheilkd 1993;141:120-3.
11: Ishii A, Fukuma G, Uehara A, et al. A de novo KCNQ2 mutation detected in non-familial benign neonatal convulsions. Brain Dev 2009;31(1):27–33. PMID 18640800
12: Ishii A, Miyajima T, Kurahashi H. KCNQ2 abnormality in BECTS: benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes following benign neonatal seizures resulting from a mutation of KCNQ2. Epilepsy Res 2012;102:122-5. PMID 22884718
13: Miceli F, Soldovieri MV, Ambrosino P, Manocchio L, Mosca I, Taglialatela M. Pharmacological targeting of neuronal Kv7.2/3 channels: a focus on chemotypes and receptor sites. Curr Med Chem 2018;25(23):2637-60. PMID 29022505
14: Miles DK, Holmes GL. Benign neonatal seizures. J Clin NeurophysioI 1990;7(3):369-79. PMID 2211994
15: Milh M, Boutry-Kryza N, Sutera-Sardo J, et al. Similar early characteristics but variable neurological outcome of patients with a de novo mutation of KCNQ2. Orphanet J Rare Dis 2013;8:80. PMID 23692823
16: Mizrah EM. Neonatal seizures and neonatal epileptic syndromes. Neurol Clin 2001;19(2):427-63. PMID 11358751
17: Navelet Y, D'Allest AM, Dehan M, Gabilan JC. A propos du syndrome des convulsions neonatales du cinquieme jour. Rev Electroencephalogr Neurophysiol Clin 1981;32:529-44. PMID 7345496
18: Numis AL, Angriman M, Sullivan JE, et al. KCNQ2 encephalopathy: delineation of the electroclinical phenotype and treatment response. Neurology 2014;82(4):368-70. PMID 24371303
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Contributors

All contributors' financial relationships have been reviewed and mitigated to ensure that this and every other article is free from commercial bias.

Authors

Henry Hasson MD

Dr. Hasson of Albert Einstein College of Medicine has no relevant financial relationships to disclose.
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Solomon L Moshé MD

Dr. Moshé of Albert Einstein College of Medicine has no relevant financial relationships to disclose.
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Editor

Solomon L Moshé MD

Dr. Moshé of Albert Einstein College of Medicine has no relevant financial relationships to disclose.
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Former Authors

Karen R Ballaban-Gil MD
Perrine Plouin MD
Jorge A Vidaurre MD
Jerome Engel Jr MD PhD

Patient Profile

Age range of presentation: 0 to 1 month
Sex preponderance: male>female, >2:1
Heredity: none
Population groups selectively affected: none selectively affected
Occupation groups selectively affected: none selectively affected

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Self-limited neonatal epilepsy

Associated Disorders

Neonatal seizures
Benign-familial neonatal seizures or convulsions

Differential Diagnosis

late hypocalcemia
subarachnoid hemorrhage
certain meningitides
benign-familial neonatal convulsions
NCNQ2 mutations

Also Relevant

Benign infantile seizures
Benign sleep myoclonus of infancy
Epilepsy
Migrating partial seizures of infancy
Neonatal seizures
- Seizures presenting in childhood

Clinical Categories

Epilepsy & Seizures

Web References

Guidelines

Testing

Self-limited neonatal epilepsy …

Self-limited neonatal epilepsy

Cite this article

Introduction

Overview

Historical note and terminology

Clinical manifestations

Presentation and course

Prognosis and complications

Clinical vignette

Biological basis

Etiology and pathogenesis

Epidemiology

Differential diagnosis

Diagnostic workup

Management

References

Contributors

Authors

Editor

Former Authors

Patient Profile

ICD & OMIM codes

This is an article preview.
Start a Free Account
to access the full version.

Questions or Comment?

Also in This Category

Fenfluramine

Jacksonian seizures

Hippocampal and parahippocampal seizures

Sleep hyperkinetic (hypermotor) epilepsy

Alcohol withdrawal seizures

Epilepsy surgery in children

Functional/dissociative seizures

Drug-induced seizures

Self-limited neonatal epilepsy

Cite this article

Introduction

Overview

Historical note and terminology

Clinical manifestations

Presentation and course

Prognosis and complications

Clinical vignette

Biological basis

Etiology and pathogenesis

Epidemiology

Differential diagnosis

Diagnostic workup

Management

References

Contributors

Authors

Editor

Former Authors

Patient Profile

ICD & OMIM codes

This is an article preview. Start a Free Account to access the full version.

Questions or Comment?

Also in This Category

Fenfluramine

Jacksonian seizures

Hippocampal and parahippocampal seizures

Sleep hyperkinetic (hypermotor) epilepsy

Alcohol withdrawal seizures

Epilepsy surgery in children

Functional/dissociative seizures

Drug-induced seizures

This is an article preview.
Start a Free Account
to access the full version.