A better understanding of the underlying etiol-ogy can inform treatment decisions and lead to opti-mal seizure control over a shorter time period. This
is also the case for patients who suffer from a spe-cific epilepsy syndrome, for whom the importance
of correct classification at an early stage should
also be emphasized. The correct identification and
classification of seizures and epilepsy types allows
evidence-based choice of syndrome-specific or
etiology-specific treatment intervention, as is the case
for Valproate treatment as a first line agent in juve-nile myoclonic epilepsy.
18
This stepwise approach to
correct diagnosis and subsequent treatments options
is outlined in Figure 1