Genetics of the epilepsies.
Epilepsies, like other common diseases, have complex inheritance, and molecular genetic studies in such conditions are difficult. There has been recent success in identifying the molecular basis of certain epilepsies, particularly in those syndromes with autosomal dominant inheritance. All four genes discovered to date for idiopathic epilepsies code for ion channel subunits, either ligand-gated or voltage-gated. The idiopathic epilepsies thus appear, at least in part, to be a family of channelopathies.
Berkovic
S F
SF
Epilepsy Research Institute, University of Melbourne, Austin and Repatriation Medical Centre, Australia. sberk@austin.unimelb.edu.au
Scheffer
I E
IE
D004827:Epilepsy / Q000235:genetics*; D008040:Genetic Linkage; D005826:Genetics, Medical / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000235:genetics*; D008967:Molecular Biology / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends; D009154:Mutation
D007473:Ion Channels