The rare epilepsies are a diverse group of disorders with devastating medical, neurologic and psychiatric comorbidities. Onset generally occurs in childhood, and although some affected people eventually become self-sufficient, most are dependent on caregivers throughout their lifetime. More than a hundred disorders can be categorized as a rare epilepsy. However, accurate epidemiological estimates for most of these diseases are lacking.

Wendy S. Vargas, MD, an Assistant Professor in Neurology at Columbia University Medical Center, is pioneering an uncommon path. She specializes in the treatment of children and adults with neuroimmunologic disorders, which constitute an array of different diseases, some quite rare-even controversial-and many of which occur infrequently in children.