Until now, experts believed this type of epilepsy came from a neurological trauma, such as a hit to the head. Picture: ThinkStock Source: Supplied

AUSTRALIAN researchers have discovered a gene they believe is responsible for the most common form of epilepsy, opening the door to genetic screening.

The researchers also suspect a link between this gene and other neurological issues, such as autism and some psychiatric disorders.

The discovery, by researchers at the Universities of Melbourne and South Australia, has been described as a major breakthrough.

Until now, many experts believed this type of epilepsy came from a neurological trauma, such as a hit on the head.

"This is going to completely shift thinking," Professor Ingrid Scheffer, the study's senior author and a paediatric neurologist, said. "Instead of saying 'we don't know the cause', they can test for this gene."

About 25 genes for rarer types of epilepsy have already been found - more than half of them by Australian scientific groups.

But this gene causes focal epilepsy, which affects 60 per cent of people with epilepsy.

In this form of the disorder, the seizure comes from a specific part of the brain, such as the frontal cerebral cortex, although the gene causes seizures coming from different parts of the brain in different people. Seizures most commonly come from the temporal lobe or the frontal lobe.

"For the patient the discovery means a few things," Professor Scheffer said.

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Gene test hope for common epilepsy

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