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This review describes the new International League Against Epilepsy classification of seizure types and epilepsies, which has been updated to reflect the major advances in the understanding of the biology of seizure disorders.

It also discusses the management of epilepsy in children and adults, highlighting recent advances. To provide an evidence-based review, the MJA searched PubMed for original and review articles, as well as specialist society guidelines up to 31 August 2017. They also identified relevant publications from the reference lists of retrieved articles and their files.

Learning Outcomes

1. Know of the new classification of epileptic seizures and epilepsies recently published by the International League Against Epilepsy, to reflect the major scientific advances in our understanding of the epilepsies since the last formal classification 28 years ago
2. Inform on most current managements of epilepsy, including treatment options for drug-resistant epilepsy
3. Become aware of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy.

Details

Authors: Piero Perucca, Ingrid E Scheffer, Michelle Kiley

Article Type: Narrative review