New Epilepsy Classification: Usefulness in Surgical Candidates

Abstract

Diagnostic Scheme for People with Epileptic Seizures and with Epilepsy 2001 is characterized not only by its 5 axes classification system but also by change of concept on epileptic seizure and epilepsy syndrome; i.e. no longer divide partial seizures into "simple" and "complex" and epilepsy syndromes into "focal" and "generalized". We applied this new classification on 50 newly admitted patients, 44% of which were children, to our neurosurgical department in the year of 2006. As a result, unclassifiable patients were only 8% by axis 3 of new classification whereas 26% by syndrome classification of 1989. Since younger children often shows generalized ictal EEG patterns and seizure semiology even if associated with focal epileptogenic pathologies, new classification was considered more applicable to our cases.