Valuable Evidence
Commenting on the research findings, Annapurna Poduri, MD, MPH, director, Epilepsy Genetics Program, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, said this research “is incredibly important.”
“What’s really telling about this study and others that have come up over the last few years is they’re real-world retrospective studies, so they’re looking back at patients who have been seen over many, many years.”
The research provides clinicians, insurance companies, and others with evidence that genetic testing is “valuable and can actually improve outcomes,” said Dr. Poduri.
She noted that 20 years ago, there were only a handful of genes identified as being involved with epilepsy, most related to sodium or potassium channels. But since then, “the technology has just raced ahead” to the point where now “dozens of genes” have been identified.
Not only does knowing the genetic basis of epilepsy improve management, but it offers families some peace of mind. “They blame themselves” for their loved one’s condition, said Dr. Poduri. “They may worry it was something they did in pregnancy; for example, maybe it was because [they] didn’t take that vitamin one day.”
Diagnostic certainty also means that patients “don’t have to do more tests which might be invasive” and unnecessarily costly.
Drs. Li and Poduri report no relevant conflicts of interest.
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.