Epileptic seizures and syndromes in children. Classification

: In front of any clinical paroxysmal event in childhood, the first step is to make a positive diagnostic of an epileptic seizure; for this it is necessary to eliminate non epileptic seizures which are different according to age. Then the type of seizures has to be precised, being focal or generalized. EEG will contribute to determine the epileptic syndrome according to interictal and/or ictal findings. The epilepsy syndrome is the main entity to go further in etiology and treatment. According to the type of epilepsy syndrome it will be possible to look for a structural or metabolic cause, or to perform a genetic study. The present classification of seizures and syndromes as proposed by the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) allows a common language in the world community as in clinical and therapeutic research.