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Feverish prospects for seizure genetics

Nature Genetics volume 46, pages 1255–1256 (2014)Cite this article

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Febrile seizures can arise in response to fevers induced by viral infection or as an adverse reaction to live-virus vaccines such as measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination. A new study has now identified common genetic variants influencing susceptibility to febrile seizures, including two loci specifically associated with MMR-related events.

It is a frightening experience that a sizeable minority of readers may have had: finding that your child is having a febrile seizure. Anxious parents want to know why, will it recur and does it portend anything, like epilepsy. Although febrile seizures have been much studied1, answers to these questions have proved elusive. Now, in a landmark study, researchers from Denmark report important progress in understanding the genetics of febrile seizures2.

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Figure 1: The complexity of febrile seizures.

Katie Vicari/Nature Publishing Group

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sanjay Sisodiya is at the Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK.,

    Sanjay Sisodiya

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  1. Sanjay Sisodiya
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Correspondence to Sanjay Sisodiya.

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The author declares no competing financial interests.

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Sisodiya, S. Feverish prospects for seizure genetics. Nat Genet 46, 1255–1256 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/ng.3150

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