Idiopathic epilepsy

When no specific anatomic cause for the seizure, such as trauma or neoplasm, is evident, a patient may be diagnosed with idiopathic or cryptogenic (primary) epilepsy. These seizures may result from an inherited abnormality in the central nervous system (CNS). Patients are treated chronically with antiseizure drugs or vagal nerve stimulation. Most cases of epilepsy are idiopathic.