Uncovering Genomic Causes of Co-Morbidity in Epilepsy: Gene-Driven Phenotypic Characterization of Rare Microdeletions

BACKGROUND: Patients with epilepsy often suffer from other important conditions. The existence of such co-morbidities is frequently not recognized and their relationship with epilepsy usually remains unexplained. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We describe three patients with common, sporadic, non-syndromic epilepsies in whom large genomic microdeletions were found during a study of genetic susceptibility to epilepsy. We performed detailed gene-driven clinical investigations in each patient. Disruption of the function of genes in the deleted regions can explain co-morbidities in these patients. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Co-morbidities in patients with epilepsy can be part of a genomic abnormality even in the absence of (known) congenital malformations or intellectual disabilities. Gene-driven phenotype examination can also reveal clinically significant unsuspected condition.