Epilepsy Talk

Is your epilepsy inherited? | June 21, 2023

Just because you have a parent, sibling, cousin or aunt who has epilepsy doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have it also.

In fact, if you have a close relative with epilepsy, the chance of you having epilepsy is only about 2-5%, depending on the specific type of epilepsy.

The risk in the general population is about 1-2%.

On the other hand, there is a 92-98% chance for the close relative of someone with epilepsy to NOT have the same condition!

So, even though the risk in families with epilepsy is higher than in the general population, most people with epilepsy do not have any relatives with seizures, and the great majority of parents with epilepsy do not have children with epilepsy.

Not everyone who carries genes making them more likely to develop epilepsy will do so. Even if the genes are passed on, not every generation in a family will have seizures. And so, like diabetes, epilepsy may skip a generation.

While epilepsy cannot currently be cured, for some people it does eventually go away. One study found that children with idiopathic epilepsy, or epilepsy with an unknown cause, had a 68 to 92% chance of becoming seizure-free by 20 years after their diagnosis.

The odds of becoming seizure-free are not as good for adults, or for children with severe epilepsy syndromes. But it is possible that seizures may decrease or even stop over time. This is more likely if the epilepsy has been well-controlled by medication or if the person has had epilepsy surgery.

The Genetics of Epilepsy

Clinical tests suggest that genetic abnormalities may be some of the most important factors contributing to epilepsy. Some types of epilepsy have been traced to an abnormality in a specific gene.

Researchers estimate that more than 500 genes could play a role in this disorder.

More than 20 different syndromes with epilepsy as a main feature have been mapped to specific genes.

However, it is increasingly clear that, for many forms of epilepsy, genetic abnormalities play only a partial role, perhaps by increasing a person’s susceptibility to seizures that are triggered by an environmental or external factor.

Like photosensitivity. (Did you know that 25% of people with primary generalized epilepsy are photosensitive?)

While abnormal genes sometimes cause epilepsy, they also may influence the disorder in more subtle ways…

Genetic Testing

For example, one study showed that many people with epilepsy have an abnormally active version of a gene that increases resistance to drugs. This may help explain why anticonvulsant drugs do not work for some people.

Genes also may control other aspects of the body’s response to medications and each person’s susceptibility to seizures, or seizure threshold.

Abnormalities in the genes that control neuronal migration – a critical step in brain development – can lead to areas of misplaced or abnormally formed neurons in the brain that can cause epilepsy.

And in some cases, genes may contribute to development of epilepsy even in people with no family history of the disorder.

These people may have a newly developed abnormality, or mutation, in an epilepsy-related gene.

Research is currently ongoing in many medical centers and laboratories around the world to help understand the role of genetics in the development of epilepsy.

One long term goal of this research is precision medicine. This means individuals with genetic epilepsies would be treated with approaches specifically targeted to their genetic diagnosis.

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References:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/08/130812103004.htm

http://www.healthcentral.com/epilepsy/cf/slideshows/five-causes-epilepsy#slide=2

http://epilepsy.com/learn/diagnosis/genetic-testing

http://mnepilepsy.org/patient-information/will-my-child-inherit-my-epilepsy-facts-on-genetics-and-epilepsy/

http://www.oocities.org/geneinfo/conditions/epilepsyb.html

https://www.aboutkidshealth.ca/Article?contentid=2059&language=English

https://www.uchicagomedicine.org/conditions-services/neurology-neurosurgery/epilepsy-seizures/causes#:~:text=Experts%20believe%20that%2C%20in%20many,fold%20increased%20risk%20for%20epilepsy.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/can-epilepsy-be-genetic#genetic-epilepsy

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