Epilepsy in infants ranges in severity and can leave caregivers with questions about their child’s health. While genetic testing to help determine the cause of epilepsy is possible, comprehensive testing does not always happen routinely and it can take a long time, leaving families waiting for answers.
Published in The Lancet Neurology, this international study sequenced the genomes of 100 infants with unexplained seizures, along with their parents, from four countries (England, U.S., Canada and Australia) to better understand the potential strengths of early, broad genome sequencing (a process which looks for changes across the entire genome) for infantile epilepsy. The researchers used rapid genome sequencing (rGS) to investigate the impact of an expedited genetic diagnosis on care for the first time. Across all children enrolled in the study, 43% received a diagnosis within weeks, and that diagnosis impacted prognosis in nearly 90% of those cases, guiding treatment options for over half. Called Gene-STEPS (Shortening Time to Epilepsy Services), the study is the first collaboration launched through the International Precision Child Health Partnership (IPCHiP), an international consortium (Boston Children’s Hospital, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute with The Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne Australia, The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health and Great Ormond Street Hospital) that leverages each institution’s expertise and genomic infrastructure to accelerate discovery and the development of therapies for children.
By The Hospital for Sick Children
Article can be accessed on: MedicalXpress