The 2017 ILAE classification of seizure types and the epilepsies: what do people with epilepsy and their caregivers need to know?

The International League against Epilepsy (ILAE) published in the April 2017 edition of Epilepsia three companion articles on the classification of seizures and the epilepsies. These represent a long-awaited update on the original 1981 and 1989 publications and provide a modern descriptive template. The new classification presents three levels of terminology, involving seizure types, epilepsy types, and syndromes. In this fourth paper, we present an interpretation of these new concepts for people with epilepsy and those who care for them, as well as for young medical doctors not specialized in epilepsy and nurses. Our goal in writing this paper is to ensure that everyone is speaking and understanding the same language, which is fundamental to the optimal management of people with epilepsy.