Genetics of human partial epilepsy

A minor genetic predisposition to partial epilepsy has been long recognized. Recently, a group of idiopathic partial epilepsies with autosomal dominant inheritance has been identified. The clinical features and molecular genetic findings in these epilepsies are outlined in the present review. The first genetic defect in an idiopathic epilepsy has been found in autosomal dominant nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy, the archetype of this newly recognized group of inherited partial epilepsies.