Twenty five idiopathic epileptic children with occipital electroencephalographic (EEG) foci have been studied for more than 3 years clinically as well as electroencephalographically. They were categorized into two groups, i.e., those with (A group) and without (B group) visual symptoms. Not only visual symptoms, but also headache, nausea, vomiting or generalized tonic clonic convulsion (GTC) were observed in group A. GTC or tonic deviation of the eyes were observed in group B. Migrainous symptoms were present in 3 cases of group A. Interictal EEGs consisted of spikes or spike and wave complexes in the occiptal area. In some cases epileptic foci existed not only in the occipital area, but also in other regions.
The mean age of the onset of the clinical symptoms was 8 in group A and 5 in group B. Beyond the age of 15, the abnormal EEGs were observed in 80% of the cases in group A, and in 18% of the cases in group B. The symptoms disappered by 9 years of age in 92% of the cases in group B, and by 15 years of age in 82% of the cases in group A.
From these results the prognosis of idiopathic epilepsy of childhood with occipital EEG foci was considered as good.