Landau–Kleffner syndrome

Landau–Kleffner syndrome is a rare childhood epileptic encephalopathy involving acquired language loss and epileptiform activity, usually prominent during sleep.

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Electrical status epilepticus in sleep: A pattern of near-continuous epileptiform discharges during non-REM sleep, associated with cognitive or behavioral regression. Its sleep-activated EEG pattern overlaps with Landau–Kleffner syndrome and can accompany language decline.
Acquired aphasia: A loss or impairment of previously developed language abilities caused by brain dysfunction. The syndrome is defined in part by language abilities that regress after earlier development.
Sleep-deprived electroencephalography: An EEG performed after reduced sleep, which can make epileptiform abnormalities more likely to appear. Sleep deprivation may help reveal abnormalities that intensify during sleep.
Developmental and epileptic encephalopathy with spike-and-wave activation in sleep: A childhood epileptic encephalopathy marked by spike-and-wave activation during sleep and developmental or cognitive plateauing or regression. It is a broader related syndrome; Landau–Kleffner syndrome is distinguished by prominent acquired language impairment.
Continuous spike-and-wave during sleep: An EEG pattern of abundant spike-and-wave discharges during non-REM sleep, associated with developmental or cognitive regression. This EEG pattern helps place the syndrome within sleep-activated epileptic encephalopathies.
Childhood epilepsy: A group of disorders involving recurrent unprovoked seizures that begin during childhood. The syndrome belongs to childhood epilepsies, though seizures may be subtle or absent.
Magnetoencephalography: A technique that maps magnetic fields generated by electrical activity in the brain. It can help localize epileptiform activity when evaluating selected cases.
Self-limited epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes: A childhood epilepsy with focal seizures and centrotemporal EEG spikes, usually with a favorable course. It shares an age range and EEG features but usually lacks the characteristic language regression.
Auditory verbal agnosia: An inability to understand spoken words despite adequate hearing and otherwise preserved language abilities. This characteristic receptive-language impairment can be an early manifestation of the syndrome.
Electroencephalography: A method for recording electrical activity in the brain through electrodes placed on the scalp. EEG, especially recordings that include sleep, reveals the syndrome’s epileptiform activity.