This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Sign in
Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Aetiology of idiopathic generalised epilepsies

Authoring team

The idiopathic epilepsies are:

  • generalised tonic-clonic epilepsy
  • juvenile myoclonic epilepsy
  • childhood absence epilepsy
  • juvenile absence epilepsy

These idiopathic generalised epilepsy syndromes are common, accounting for 60% of all cases of epilepsy.

They are complex genetic diseases with a multi-gene mode of inheritance.

The genetic contribution to the idiopathic generalised epilepsies can be understood from the following statistics:

  • the prevelence of idiopathic generalised epilepsy in the community is 0.4%
  • the risk of epilepsy in the first degree relative of a patient with one of these syndromes is 8%
  • the concordance for dizygotic twins is 24%
  • the concordance for monozygotic twins is 65%

To date no genes for idiopathic generalised epilepsy have been identified.

Related pages

Create an account to add page annotations

Create a free account

Add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation, such as a web address or phone number. This information will always be displayed when you visit this page

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2024 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.