Syndromes
Epilepsy Action is indebted to Dr Richard Appleton, a Consultant Paediatric Neurologist who specialises in children’s epilepsy, and to Dr Rachel Kneen, Consultant Paediatric Neurologist and Dr Stewart Macleod, Specialist Registrar in paediatric neurology, at Alder Hey at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, Liverpool, who have kindly prepared the information on this page.
What is a syndrome?
A syndrome is a group of signs and symptoms that, added together, suggest a particular medical condition. In epilepsy, examples of these signs and symptoms would be things like the age at which seizures begin, the type of seizures, whether the child is male or female and whether they experience difficulties with learning.
If a child is diagnosed with a particular syndrome, it allows doctors to provide more information about what is most likely to happen to them in future years, not only from the point of view of the epilepsy but also in relation to other features such as learning skills.
In the UK there are support groups for parents of children with some types of syndrome. Details of the support groups can be obtained from the following:
Contact A Family209-211 City Road
London EC1V 1JN
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7608 8714
Freephone helpline: +44 (0)808 808 3555
Email: info@cafamily.org.uk
Minicom line: +44 (0)808 808 3556
www.cafamily.org.uk
- Aicardi syndrome
- Angelman syndrome
- Benign epilepsy of childhood with occipital paroxysms (BECOP)
- Benign myoclonic epilepsy in infancy
- Benign neonatal convulsions
- Benign partial epilepsy in infancy
- Benign rolandic epilepsy
- Childhood absence epilepsy (CAE)
- Early myoclonic encephalopathy
- Electrical status epilepticus during slow-wave sleep (ESESS)
- Epilepsy with myoclonic absences
- Eyelid myoclonia with absences (EMA)
- Gelastic Epilepsy
- Generalised epilepsy with febrile seizure plus (GEFS+)
- Juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME)
- Landau Kleffner Syndrome
- Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome
- Migrating partial epilepsy in infancy
- Myoclonic astatic epilepsy (Doose syndrome)
- Ohtahara Syndrome
- Panayiotopoulos syndrome
- Pyridoxine dependency
- Ramsay Hunt syndrome
- Rasmussen syndrome
- Rett syndrome
- Ring chromosome 20 syndrome
- Severe myoclonic epilepsy in infancy (SMEI)
- Sturge-Weber syndrome
- West syndrome (infantile spasms)
We can provide references and information on the source material we use to write our epilepsy advice and information pages. Please contact our Epilepsy Helpline by email at helpline@epilepsy.org.uk.
Epilepsy advice and information
- What is epilepsy?
- Children
- Depression
- Disability Discrimination Act (UK)
- Driving
- Education
- Employment
- Epilepsy and caring for children: a comprehensive guide
- Epilepsy in later life
- Epilepsy information for prisons
- Getting a diagnosis
- Health care and welfare benefits
- Inheritance
- Learning disabilities
- Me and my dad
- Memory
- Men and Epilepsy
- Mobile phones and epilepsy
- Osteoporosis, osteomalacia and epilepsy
- Photosensitive epilepsy
- Safety
- Seizures
- Sports and leisure
- Stress and epilepsy
- Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP)
- Swine flu and epilepsy
- Syndromes
- Aicardi syndrome
- Angelman syndrome
- Benign epilepsy of childhood with occipital paroxysms (BECOP)
- Benign myoclonic epilepsy in infancy
- Benign neonatal convulsions
- Benign partial epilepsy in infancy
- Benign rolandic epilepsy
- Childhood absence epilepsy (CAE)
- Early myoclonic encephalopathy
- Electrical status epilepticus during slow-wave sleep (ESESS)
- Epilepsy with myoclonic absences
- Eyelid myoclonia with absences (EMA)
- Gelastic Epilepsy
- Generalised epilepsy with febrile seizure plus (GEFS+)
- Juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME)
- Landau Kleffner Syndrome
- Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome
- Migrating partial epilepsy in infancy
- Myoclonic astatic epilepsy (Doose syndrome)
- Ohtahara Syndrome
- Panayiotopoulos syndrome
- Pyridoxine dependency
- Ramsay Hunt syndrome
- Rasmussen syndrome
- Rett syndrome
- Ring chromosome 20 syndrome
- Severe myoclonic epilepsy in infancy (SMEI)
- Sturge-Weber syndrome
- West syndrome (infantile spasms)
- Travel abroad
- Treatment
- Women and epilepsy
- Young people and epilepsy
- The Epilepsies: You, Epilepsy and the NICE Guideline
- Epilepsy Action Information Reviewers (EAIRs)
- Technical editing/writing and copyright
Epilepsy Helpline
- UK freephone 0808 800 5050
- International +44 113 210 8850
- Email: helpline@epilepsy.org.uk
- Txt msg: 07797 805 390 info





