The common variants in our genome that predispose to epilepsy – the ILAE GWAS

ILAE GWAS. This is one of the rare occasions when I can write on behalf of the ILAE Genetics Commission and discuss a recent publication. Earlier this week, the ILAE Consortium on complex epilepsies came online in Lancet Neurology. This study is a large meta-analysis of almost 9,000 patients and 26,000 controls looking at common genetic variants predisposing to common epilepsies, including the Idiopathic/Genetic Generalized Epilepsies and focal epilepsies. In a nutshell, when looking for common variants predisposing to the epilepsies, the answer is surprisingly simple. Continue reading