Genetics of epilepsy. In the last few years, the presence of specific genetic abnormalities leading to some of the classical epileptic syndromes has been clearly elucidated. This means that for the first time, it has become possible to create a strong relationship between the presence of specific genomic and/or proteomic abnormalities and epileptic syndromes previously considered to be “idiopat...

For the successful treatment of epilepsy, accurate diagnosis of epilepsy and epileptic seizures, and proper selection of antiepileptic drugs (AED) according to the classification of epileptic syndromes are fundamentally important. Efficacy of AED treatment, however, depends not only on its pharmacological action but also on its efficient use, namely a rationally thinking tailor-made treatment c...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW The aim of this article is to review new epilepsy syndromes, acquire a new understanding of older ones and emphasize the impact of this concept on basic research regarding aetiology and treatment. RECENT FINDINGS In addition to those included in the classification of the International League Against Epilepsy, new epilepsy syndromes comprise febrile seizures plus, benign fami...

Photosensitivity is the most common mode of seizure precipitation. It is age-related, more frequent in females, and most often found in generalised epilepsies. Little is known about its relation to individual epileptic syndromes. This study on 1062 epileptic patients who had 4007 split screen video EEG investigations revealed that the relation to generalised epilepsy is even more close than gen...

Epileptic negative myoclonus is an uncommon seizure type characterized by a sudden, brief loss of muscle tone that may lead to falling. It has been associated largely with benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (rolandic epilepsy), although it may also be a feature of other epileptic syndromes. In patients with rolandic epilepsy, epileptic negative myoclonus usually appears during...

Introduction. The idiopathic generalized epilepsies of childhood form a heterogeneous group of epileptic syndromes, with certain clinical and electroencephalographic characteristics in common. From the onset, the seizures affect both cerebral hemispheres with generalized clinical expression and from the start there are bilateral electroencephalographic patterns during seizures. These epilepsies...

In recent years several new anti-epileptic drugs have been introduced, also for the treatment of childhood epilepsy. A major concern is their effect on learning and cognitive development. Testing the genuine effects on cognition of the anti-epileptic drugs is methodologically not easy. At this moment there are very few controlled trials that systematically examine the cognitive side effects of ...

Drug therapy aids most epilepsy patients, but unmet challenges include drug-resistant epilepsy, adverse reactions, drug interactions, the need to better identify epileptic syndromes, and a lack of agents to prevent epilepsy and its comorbidities.

Vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) has shown promising results in various cohorts of non-surgical refractory epilepsy in adults and children. However studies report a significant delay between implantation and clinical response. We describe a cohort of 28 children and adolescents prospectively followed, classified by epileptic syndromes and treated with VNS using a 6-week rapid ramping protocol betw...