DEEs are accompanied by a variety of seizure types. Every person’s seizure experience is different; however, a patient with a given type of DEE will tend to have a cluster of symptoms and features that typically occur together – an epilepsy syndrome.1 Some of these include:
Assessment of seizure activity may involve several types of testing in order to reach a diagnosis of a specific DEE:1
Researchers continue to study a person’s genes to help determine which type of DEE a person may have. This knowledge is an important consideration in choosing a therapy option that may be most effective. Currently, several genes have been identified that show specific correlations to particular types of DEEs. The use of new treatments that target the underlying mechanisms provides hope for disease modification that will improve both physical seizure events, as well as the developmental outcomes of affected children.2
