- Dr. Latha Ravichandran, DCH, DNB(Pediatric Medicine)*

Introduction:Childhood epilepsy is a common cause of neurological morbidity (incidence 4-7.8/10,000). However it represents only a symptom complex, the disease and the etiological process of which needs to be defined. While almost 1 out of 5 children experiences a seizure, only one out of 200 children has epilepsy.

Definition: Epilepsy is defined as two or more unprovoked seizures.


Classification of Epilepsy
ILAE* classification of Epileptic Seizures (1981)
I. Partial Seizures
A)Simple partial seizures
1. With motor signs
2. With somatosensory or special sensory hallucinations
3. With autonomic symptoms and signs
4. With psychic symptoms

B) Complex partial seizures
1.Simple partial onset followed by impairment of consciousness
2. With impaired consciousness from onset

C) Partial seizures evolving to secondarily generalized seizures
1. Simple partial seizures evolving to generalized seizures
2. Complex partial seizures evolving to generalized seizures
3. Simple partial seizures evolving to complex partial evolving to generalized seizures

II. Generalized Seizures
A) Absence
Atypical absence
B) Myoclonic
C) Clonic
D) Tonic Clonic
E) Atonic