Extending the use of stiripentol to SLC13A5-related epileptic encephalopathy.

INTRODUCTION: SLC13A5-related epileptic encephalopathy is a recently described autosomal recessive disorder that is characterized by infantile epilepsy and developmental delay. Seizures are markedly drug resistant and often induced by fever; they mainly occur in clusters, sometimes evolving into status epilepticus.

METHODS AND RESULTS: We report the use of stiripentol as an adjunctive therapy in three siblings with drug-resistant SLC13A5-related epilepsy. The three patients showed remarkable improvement in the severity and frequency of seizures, status epilepticus, emergency department visits, and alertness.

CONCLUSION: These observations extend the use of stiripentol beyond the classical Dravet syndrome, and further studies on the use of this drug in drug-resistant epilepsy, mainly of genetic origin, are warranted.