Febrile Seizures. The discovery of the genes for fever-associated epilepsies was one of the most relevant milestones in epilepsy genetics. Discovery of the underlying genes including SCN1A, SCN1B and GABRG2 was tightly linked to the development of the Genetic/Generalized Epilepsy with Febrile Seizures Plus (GEFS+) concept, describing the spectrum of epilepsy phenotypes seen in families with these mutations. Gene discovery in GEFS+, however, has slowed down in recent years, and no further causative genes had been identified for more than a decade. Now, in a recent paper in Nature Genetics, mutations in STX1B are found as a novel cause for fever-associated epilepsies. Continue reading
Tag Archives: synaptobrevin
The tale of two planets: the expanding spectrum of STXBP1
Intergalactic, planetary. At the end of last year, I gave a presentation on epilepsy genetics for epilepsy surgeons. Having worked in presurgical epilepsy monitoring myself for some time, I could not help realizing that the fields of epilepsy surgery and epilepsy genetics are quite distinct. Both fields use different terminologies and different concepts and virtually represent parallel worlds. In the vast majority of cases, this does not really matter as there is little overlap between the patients undergoing epilepsy monitoring for later surgery and patients where a genetic etiology is assumed. In a recent paper in Epilepsia, the case of a patient with an STXBP1 mutation is presented who successfully underwent epilepsy surgery. So who is right when both fields collide while treating a single patient? Continue reading
