Syndromes of Epilepsy in Childhood and Adolescence

Abstract ______________________________________________________________ This report concerns the more commonly recognized epileptic syndromes that have their onset or entire clinical course in childhood and/or adolescence. It hopes to demonstrate the close relationship between the classifications of epileptic syn-dromes. It will also discuss how knowledge of the epileptic syndromes will enhance the management plan for the patient with epilepsy. (J Child Neurol 1988;3:214-224). Several advances in the management of epi-lepsy have been made over the last two dec-ades. These include improved diagnostic capability through the use of long-term monitoring of brain electrical activity and the behavioral correlate utiliz-ing simultaneous closed-circuit television and EEG recording, the availability of more effective anti-epileptic drugs, and the widespread capability to determine the serum level of antiepileptic drugs (Table 1). 1,