Myoclonic astatic epilepsy (MAE), also known as Doose syndrome, is an epilepsy syndrome of early childhood usually characterized by difficult to control generalized seizures. Children will experience drop and staring seizures, sometimes associated with falls.
Symptoms of myoclonic astatic epilepsy (Doose syndrome)
Generally resistant to medication, MAE is a difficult disorder to manage. Patients may experience several seizures daily, and MAE is idiopathic (has no known cause).
Most symptoms of myoclonic astatic epilepsy appear between ages one and five.
Treatment for myoclonic astatic epilepsy (Doose syndrome)
Anticonvulsant medications such as valproate and levetiracetam can be helpful for this condition. However, research in the past decade has shown that the ketogenic diet and modified Atkins diet can be the most effective treatment.