title: Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. Management update.
abstract: Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS) is a severe pediatric epilepsy syndrome characterized by mixed seizures, cognitive decline, and generalized slow (<3 Hz) spike wave discharges on electroencephalography. Atonic seizures result in dangerous drop attacks with risks of injury and impairment of the quality of life. The seizures are frequently resistant to multiple antiepileptic (AED) drugs. Newer AEDs, such as rufinamide, are now available. When multiple AED trials fail, non-pharmacological treatments such as the ketogenic diet, vagus nerve stimulation, and epilepsy surgery, should be considered. The aim of this review is to present an updated outline of LGS and the available treatments. Although the prognosis for complete seizure control remains poor, the addition of newer therapies provides an improved hope for some of these patients and their families. Further long term randomized controlled trials are required to compare different therapeutic interventions in terms of efficacy and tolerability.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Muradi H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Al-Banji
authors.forename: Doaa K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Zahr
authors.forename: Mohammed M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Jan
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D065768:Lennox Gastaut Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology