Editor,—Ferrie et al state that ‘seizures in the epileptic encephalopathies are usually considered to be primary generalised...’.¹ However the term ‘primary generalised’ should be used to refer to particular forms of epilepsy not seizures.

The international classification of epilepsies, epileptic syndromes, and related seizure disorders classifies epilepsies as having generalised or partial seizures.² Furthermore epilepsies are classified as symptomatic (having a known aetiology), idiopathic (no underlying cause other than a possible inherited predisposition), or cryptogenic (occult or hidden cause presumed to be symptomatic but aetiology is not known).

Idiopathic epilepsies …