The top three publications in epilepsy genetics 25 years ago

Looking back. In this week’s ILAE Genetics Commission post, we would like to look 25 years back and examine the most important publication in the field in 1989, the year the Berlin wall fell. What concepts did we have back then and how did our understanding of epilepsy and genes change? Here are the top three publications of 1989. Continue reading

Story of a genetic shape-shifter: SCN2A in benign seizures, autism and epileptic encephalopathy

The other sodium channel gene. The week before Christmas, the Kiel group identified its first patient with SCN2A encephalopathy. At the same time, a questionably benign SNP in the same gene is haunting our Israel Epilepsy Family Project. Time to review the mysterious SCN2A gene that initially entered the scene as a candidate for a rare, benign familial epilepsy syndrome – only to return as one of the most prominent genes for autism, intellectual disability, and epileptic encephalopathies to date. Continue reading