Document Type

Article

Department

Paediatrics and Child Health (East Africa)

Abstract

The International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) Task Force on Nosology andDefinitions proposes a classification and definition of epilepsy syndromes in theneonate and infant with seizure onset up to 2 years of age. The incidence of epi-lepsy is high in this age group and epilepsy is frequently associated with significantcomorbidities and mortality. The licensing of syndrome specific antiseizure medi-cations following randomized controlled trials and the development of precision,gene- related therapies are two of the drivers defining the electroclinical pheno-types of syndromes with onset in infancy. The principal aim of this proposal, con-sistent with the 2017 ILAE Classification of the Epilepsies, is to support epilepsydiagnosis and emphasize the importance of classifying epilepsy in an individualboth by syndrome and etiology. For each syndrome, we report epidemiology, clini-cal course, seizure types, electroencephalography (EEG), neuroimaging, genetics,and differential diagnosis. Syndromes are separated into self- limited syndromes,where there is likely to be spontaneous remission and developmental and epilep-tic encephalopathies, diseases where there is developmental impairment related toboth the underlying etiology independent of epileptiform activity and the epilep-tic encephalopathy. The emerging class of etiology- specific epilepsy syndromes,where there is a specific etiology for the epilepsy that is associated with a clearlydefined, relatively uniform, and distinct clinical phenotype in most affected in-dividuals as well as consistent EEG, neuroimaging, and/or genetic correlates, ispresented. The number of etiology- defined syndromes will continue to increase,and these newly described syndromes will in time be incorporated into this clas-sification. The tables summarize mandatory features, cautionary alerts, and exclu-sionary features for the common syndromes. Guidance is given on the criteria forsyndrome diagnosis in resource- limited regions where laboratory confirmation,including EEG, MRI, and genetic testing, might not be available.

Publication (Name of Journal)

Epilepsia

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Included in

Pediatrics Commons

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