Pediatric Epilepsy

For more information, please visit our Pediatric Neurosurgery Program site and our Pediatric Epilepsy Program site.

There are over 40 different types of epilepsy, including: Absence seizures, atonic seizures, benign Rolandic epilepsy, childhood absence, clonic seizures, complex partial seizures, frontal lobe epilepsy, febrile seizures, infantile spasms, juvenile myoclonic epilepsy, juvenile absence epilepsy, hot water epilepsy, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, Landau-Kleffner syndrome , myoclonic seizures, mitochondrial disorders, progressive myoclonic epilepsy, psychogenic seizures, reflex epilepsy, Rasmussen's syndrome, simple partial seizures, secondarily generalized seizures, temporal lobe epilepsy, tonic-clonic seizures, tonic seizures, psychomotor seizures, limbic epilepsy, partial-onset seizures, Rett syndrome, generalized-onset seizures, status epilepticus, abdominal epilepsy, akinetic seizures, autonomic seizures, massive bilateral myoclonus, catamenial epilepsy, drop seizures, emotional seizures, focal seizures, gelastic seizures, Jacksonian seizure disorder, Lafora disease, motor seizures, multifocal seizures, neonatal seizures, nocturnal seizures, photosensitive epilepsy, pseudoseizures, sensory seizures, subtle seizures, Sylvan seizures, withdrawal seizures and visual reflex seizures, among others.

Each type of epilepsy presents with its own unique combination of seizure type, typical age of onset, EEG findings, treatment, and prognosis. The most widespread classification of the epilepsies divides epilepsy syndromes by location or distribution of seizures (as revealed by the appearance of the seizures and by EEG) and by cause. Syndromes are divided into localization-related epilepsies, generalized epilepsies, or epilepsies of unknown localization.