Purpose of review: Epilepsy syndromes are an important clinical construct in pediatric epilepsy, as they encompass recognizable patterns seen in patients with epilepsies, whether of the more benign variety or associated with encephalopathy.
Recent findings: Syndromes may be organized by age of onset: neonatal, infantile, childhood, or adolescent. The assignment of a syndrome has specific implications for diagnosis, management, and prognostication. The 2010 revised classification of the epilepsies by the International League Against Epilepsy preserved the syndrome approach, while progress in genetics continues to advance our understanding of the pathophysiology and overlap of the epilepsy syndromes.
Summary: Given that mutations of the same gene may cause both encephalopathic and relatively benign epilepsies, an understanding of the pediatric epilepsy syndromes remains vital to patient care.