Mutations in sodium channel genes are highly associated with epilepsy. Mutation of SCN1A, the gene encoding the voltage gated sodium channel (VGSC) alpha subunit type 1 (Nav1.1), causes Dravet syndrome spectrum disorders. Mutations in SCN2A have been identified in patients with benign familial neonatal-infantile epilepsy (BFNIE), generalised epilepsy with febrile seizures plus (GEFS+), and a small number of reported cases of other infantile-onset severe intractable epilepsy. Here, we report three patients with infantile-onset severe intractable epilepsy found to have de novo mutations in SCN2A. While a causal role for these mutations cannot be directly established, these findings contribute to growing evidence that mutation of SCN2A is associated with a range of epilepsy phenotypes including severe infantile-onset epilepsy.
Keywords: SCN2A; channelopathy; early epileptic encephalopathy.