What Is Epilepsy and Epilepsy Syndromes?
Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that occurs when the brain experiences electrical disruptions. It leads to seizures, which are characterized by abnormal movements, unusual behavior, and loss of consciousness. A doctor typically makes a diagnosis of epilepsy when you report at least two seizures and no underlying condition is causing them. The exact cause is still not clear in most cases. Epilepsy may run in family or result from other diseases, such as traumatic brain injury, infections, or strokes. Some anti-seizure medications or surgery may help manage the symptoms of epilepsy. [1]
An epilepsy syndrome is not a type of epilepsy. Instead, it refers to a group of medical characteristics that typically occur simultaneously. These include seizure types and other features, such as genetic factors, common triggers, EEG results, age of onset, outlook, body’s response to antiepileptic medications, and other signs. Up to now, scientists have found around 30 epilepsy syndromes. Common ones may include childhood absence epilepsy, Dravet syndrome, gelastic epilepsy, West syndrome, Doose syndrome, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, and Laundau Kleffner syndrome. [2]
