Idiopathic generalised epilepsies are characterised by strong genetic factors and multiple clinical phenotypes; animal models of untreated epilepsies are relevant to some of the clinical syndromes found in humans. This volume is the first to confront human clinical, animal (experimental) as well as basic and applied genetic data. Main section headings: Current approaches; Familial neonatal and infantile convulsions; Absence seizures and absence epilepsy; Juvenile myoclonic epilepsy and related syndromes; Photosensitivity; Pathophysiology of convulsive seizures; Fundamental and therapeutic aspects.

Genetic studies of the epilepsies are essential for clinical diagnosis, family counselling and as a critical route to understanding the basic biology of epilepsies at a molecular level. The focal epilepsies have been traditionally regarded as predominantly acquired disorders. This perception has now changed and there has been an explosion of interest in inherited forms of focal epilepsy that are emerging as being surprisingly common. This book describes the clinical features of the enlarging group of familial focal epilepsies and highlights recent molecular biological knowledge in understanding these disorders.

Idiopathic generalised epilepsies are characterised by strong genetic factors and multiple clinical phenotypes; animal models of untreated epilepsies are relevant to some of the clinical syndromes found in humans. This volume is the first to confront human clinical, animal (experimental) as well as basic and applied genetic data. Main section headings: Current approaches; Familial neonatal and infantile convulsions; Absence seizures and absence epilepsy; Juvenile myoclonic epilepsy and related syndromes; Photosensitivity; Pathophysiology of convulsive seizures; Fundamental and therapeutic aspects.

Genetic studies of the epilepsies are essential for clinical diagnosis, family counselling and as a critical route to understanding the basic biology of epilepsies at a molecular level. The focal epilepsies have been traditionally regarded as predominantly acquired disorders. This perception has now changed and there has been an explosion of interest in inherited forms of focal epilepsy that are emerging as being surprisingly common. This book describes the clinical features of the enlarging group of familial focal epilepsies and highlights recent molecular biological knowledge in understanding these disorders.