Monozygotic twins with seizures. Shared characteristics

R. A. Segal, C. Chapman and J. Barlow
Department of Neurology, Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115.

Eleven sets of monozygotic twins with idiopathic seizure disorders seen at Children's Hospital, Boston, Mass, were reviewed Nine twin pairs were concordant for seizures. A marked correlation in the precise timing of onset of seizures was found; three sets of twins had their first clinical seizures within a 24-hour period of one another. The clinical features of the seizures and the electroencephalographic patterns, including the location of focal discharges, were strikingly similar in the twin pairs. The significance of these findings in suggesting aberrant processes that may contribute to epileptic syndromes is discussed.