Rare diseases · Sign or symptom
Multifocal epileptiform discharges
HP:0010841
What it means
An abnormality in cerebral electrical activity recorded along the scalp by electroencephalography (EEG) and being identified at multiple locations (foci).
Rare diseases that can present with this18
Common30–79%
7- CDKL5-deficiency disorder
- Congenital lactic acidosis, Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean type
- Dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase deficiency
- Dravet syndrome
- Early-onset epileptic encephalopathy-cortical blindness-intellectual disability-facial dysmorphism syndrome
- Folinic acid-responsive seizures
- Global developmental delay-neuro-ophthalmological abnormalities-seizures-intellectual disability syndrome
Sometimes5–29%
10- Congenital insensitivity to pain with severe intellectual disability
- Developmental delay-facial dysmorphism syndrome due to MED13L deficiency
- DK1-CDG
- Familial focal epilepsy with variable foci
- Intellectual disability-seizures-hypophosphatasia-ophthalmic-skeletal anomalies syndrome
- MECP2-related severe neonatal encephalopathy
- New-onset refractory status epilepticus
- Pyridoxine-dependent-developmental and epileptic encephalopathy
and 2 more in this range
The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.
Part of the broader category
Also called: Multifocal EEG abnormality
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Start free with EleplanThis page uses the Human Phenotype Ontology (2026-06-23) — Human Phenotype Ontology Consortium, hpo.jax.org. Disease associations from Orphanet (INSERM), CC BY 4.0. Content is educational and is not medical advice.