Narrative ReviewDevelopmental medicine and child neurology2026

Genomics and epilepsy: Opportunities to improve understanding and management.

Sanjay M Sisodiya

PMID 40836506

WHAT IT FOUND

This review outlines how genomic sequencing can explain epilepsy causes and guide treatment, but notes that most cases remain genetically unexplained.

It highlights the gap between genetic discovery and proven precision therapies, urging caution against assuming a single gene dictates all outcomes.

What this paper is

This is a narrative review discussing how genomic data can improve the understanding and management of epilepsy. It describes concepts like polygenic risk scores, pharmacogenomics, and the limitations of current genetic testing, but it does not report original clinical trial data, patient outcomes, or comparative effectiveness results. Therefore, there are no specific findings from this paper to act on in clinical practice.

The easy way to misread this

Do not interpret this as evidence that genomic testing currently yields actionable precision treatments for most patients. The review explicitly states that few precision treatments are proven effective and that genomics alone cannot yet explain phenotypic diversity or treatment response variability.

Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →


The study

Certainty of evidence
Low

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    Sanjay M Sisodiya Genomics and epilepsy: Opportunities to improve understanding and management. Developmental medicine and child neurology. 2026.

    Read the original — we summarise, we never replace the paper.