Overview of childhood epilepsy and epileptic syndromes and advances in therapy

Seizures have a variety of etiologies and manifestations. Descriptions of v arious epiletic seizures as well as electroencephalographic findings have l ed to a unifying international classification of epileptic seizures and epi lepsy syndromes. The development of this classification system and the emer gence of several new antiepiletic drugs have led to progress in the refract ory pediatric patient particularly disorders which are traditionally diffic ult to treat such as infantile spasms and the Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome. Howe ver, there is limited data regarding optimal use in children.