This article is about the medical term, epileptic seizure, as distinct from psychogenic non-epileptic seizure. In law, seizure can also refer to taking possession of an item: see search and seizure.

Seizures (or convulsions) are temporary abnormal electrophysiologic phenomena of the brain, resulting in abnormal synchronization of electrical neuronal activity. They can manifest as an alteration in mental state, tonic or clonic movements and various other symptoms. They are due to temporary abnormal electrical activity of a group of brain cells. The medical syndrome of recurrent, unprovoked seizures is termed epilepsy. The term symptom (from the Greek syn = con/plus and pipto = fall, together meaning co-exist) has two similar meanings in the context of physical and mental health: Strictly, a symptom is a sensation or change in health function experienced by a patient. ... In medicine, a sign is a feature of disease as detected by the doctor during physical examination of a patient. ... The following codes are used with International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. ... The following is a list of codes for International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. ... Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures are a manifestation or a form of conversion disorder. ... This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ... I love this law whereby police, who suspect that a crime has been committed, do a search of a persons property and confiscate any relevant evidence to the crime. ... Comparative brain sizes In animals, the brain, or encephalon (Greek for in the head), is the control center of the central nervous system. ... Drawing by Santiago Ramón y Cajal of cells in the pigeon cerebellum. ... MENTAL STATE Listening to music by the North Carolina band Something For You can send a person or, in some extreme cases, another animal posessing ears into a strange mental state in which a pleasurable sense is sent to the ears. ... Comparative brain sizes In animals, the brain, or encephalon (Greek for in the head), is the control center of the central nervous system. ...

The treatment of epilepsy is a subspecialty of neurology; the study of seizures is part of neuroscience. Neurology is a branch of medicine dealing with disorders of the nervous system. ... Neuroscience is a field of study that deals with the structure, function, development, genetics, biochemistry, physiology, pharmacology, and pathology of the nervous system, consisting of the myriad nerve pathways running throughout the body. ...

Signs and symptoms

Seizures can cause involuntary changes in body movement or function, sensation, awareness, or behavior. A seizure can last from a few seconds to status epilepticus, a continuous seizure that will not stop without intervention. Seizure is often associated with a sudden and involuntary contraction of a group of muscles. However, a seizure can also be as subtle as marching numbness of a part of body, a brief loss of memory, sparkling of flashes, sensing an unpleasant odor, a strange epigastric sensation or a sensation of fear. Therefore seizures are typically classified as motor, sensory, autonomic, emotional or cognitive. Memory is the ability of the brain to store, retain, and subsequently recall information. ... In vertebrates, motoneurons (also called motor neurons) are efferent neurons that originate in the spinal cord and synapse with muscle fibers to facilitate muscle contraction and with muscle spindles to modify proprioceptive sensitivity. ... Senses are the physiological methods of perception. ... It has been suggested that Feeling be merged into this article or section. ... Cognitive The scientific study of how people obtain, retrieve, store and manipulate information. ...

There are more than 21 different types of seizures. Unprovoked seizures are often associated with epilepsy and related seizure disorders. Causes of provoked seizures include head trauma, intoxication, infection, metabolic disturbances, withdrawal symptoms (from sedatives such as alcohol, barbiturates and benzodiazepines) and space-occupying processes in the brain (abscesses, tumors). Seizures during (or shortly after) pregnancy can be a sign of eclampsia. Epilepsy (often referred to as a seizure disorder) is a chronic neurological condition characterized by recurrent unprovoked seizures. ... Head injury is a trauma to the head, that may or may not include injury to the brain (see also brain injury). ... ... Infection is also the title of an episode of the television series Babylon 5, and the English title of the Japanese film Kansen. ... Santorio Santorio (1561-1636) in his steelyard balance, from Ars de statica medecina, first published 1614 Metabolism (from μεταβολισμος (metabolismos)) is the biochemical modification of chemical compounds in living organisms anggjgjhnd cell (b). ... Withdrawal refers to the characteristic signs and symptoms that appear when a drug that causes a physical dependency is regularly used for a long time and then suddenly discontinued or decreased in dosage. ... A sedative is a drug that depresses the central nervous system (CNS), which causes calmness, relaxation, reduction of anxiety, sleepiness, slowed breathing, slurred speech, staggering gait, poor judgment, and slow, uncertain reflexes. ... Ethanol, also known as ethyl alcohol or grain alcohol, is a flammable, colorless chemical compound, one of the alcohols that is most often found in alcoholic beverages. ... Barbiturates are drugs that acts as central nervous system (CNS) depressants, and by virtue of this they produce a wide spectrum of effects, from mild sedation to anesthesia. ... Benzodiazepine tablets The benzodiazepines are a class of drugs with hypnotic, anxiolytic, anticonvulsant, amnestic and muscle relaxant properties. ... Abscess An abscess is a collection of pus collected in a cavity formed by the tissue on the basis of an infectious process (usually caused by bacteria or parasites) or other foreign materials (e. ... Tumor (American English) or tumour (British English) originally means swelling, and is sometimes still used with that meaning. ...

Some medications produce an increased risk of seizures and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) deliberately sets out to induce a seizure. Many seizures have unknown causes. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Symptoms experienced by a person during a seizure depend on where in the brain the disturbance in electrical activity occurs. A person having a tonic-clonic seizure (also known as a grand mal seizure) may cry out, lose consciousness and fall to the ground, and convulse, often violently. A person having a complex partial seizure may appear confused or dazed and will not be able to respond to questions or direction. Some people have seizures that are not noticeable to others. Sometimes, the only clue that a person is having an absence (petit mal) seizure is rapid blinking or a few seconds of staring into space. Complex partial seizures are epileptic attacks which involve a greater degree of impairment of consciousness than simple partial seizures. ...

Types

Some seizure types are:

• Petit mal seizures (an absence seizure, or very brief loss of consciousness) typically have a sudden onset, present with motor arrest, sometimes eye blinking, and last a few seconds. In susceptible persons, these seizures can be induced by hyperventilation. Additionally, some learning difficulties may be symptomatic of this form of seizure.
• Simple partial seizures are usually motor or sensory seizures that are restricted to one part of the body, without alteration of consciousness.
• Complex partial seizures are characterized by alteration or loss of consciousness, behavioral or emotional symptoms, loss of memory, and/or automatisms; temporal lobe and frontal lobe seizures are often in this category.
• Generalized tonic-clonic seizures, also known as a grand mal seizures, rarely involve auras and can be preceded by a sense of general malaise. The tonic phase involves vocalization, severe hyperextension (opisthotonos, arcing of the back), possible respiratory arrest, cyanosis, and reflexive emptying of the bladder. The clonic phase involves rhythmic generalised jerking, followed by prolonged unconsciousness. After a seizure, aches, pains, headache, lethargy, and a bitten tongue are common.
• Atonic seizures, also known as "drop attacks," begins with a brief loss of muscle tone that usually results in an abrupt fall, if standing.
• Myoclonic seizures are characterized by abnormal, lightning-fast muscle contractions.
• A "secondarily generalized attack" is any type of partial seizure which immediately precedes a tonic-clonic seizure.

It is still disputable whether febrile seizures have to be regarded as an epileptic disorder or not; the dispute hinges on whether fever is considered a provocant. Contributing to this dispute is the knowledge that most children with simple febrile seizures outgrow them with no lasting ill effect. By definition, a patient with two or more episodes of unprovoked seizures is said to have epilepsy (a condition also known as a seizure disorder). Many people with epilepsy perceive "auras": telltale sensations such as strange lights, unpleasant smells or odd feelings before their seizures. In medicine, there are many kinds of generalized seizures. ... In medicine, there are many kinds of generalized seizures. ... Consciousness is a quality of the mind generally regarded to comprise qualities such as subjectivity, self-awareness, sentience, sapience, and the ability to perceive the relationship between oneself and ones environment. ... In medicine, hyperventilation (or hyperpnea) is the state of breathing faster or deeper (hyper) than necessary, and thereby reducing the carbon dioxide concentration of the blood below normal. ... Focal seizures (also called partial seizures) are seizures which are characterized by consciousness, experiencing unusual feelings or sensations, sudden and unexplainable feelings of joy, anger, sadness or nausea, hearing, smelling, tasting, seeing, or feeling things that are not real, having a change or loss of consciousness (may appear dreamlike), and... Complex partial seizures are epileptic attacks which involve a greater degree of impairment of consciousness than simple partial seizures. ... Clonus (from the Greek for violent, confused motion) is a series of involuntary muscular contractions due to sudden stretching of the muscle. ... An aura is the perceptual disturbance experienced by some migraine sufferers before a migraine headache, and the telltale sensation experienced by some epileptics before a seizure (often a strange light or unpleasant smell). ... Malaise is a term used to refer to a general state of discomfort, tiredness, or illness. ... The words Opisthotonos or opisthotonus stem from the Greek language, opistho for behind and tonos for tension. ... It has been suggested that Gas exchange be merged into this article or section. ... Cyanosis refers to the bluish coloration of the skin due to the presence of deoxygenated hemoglobin in blood vessels near the skin surface. ... The interior of bladder. ... Atonic seizures (also called drop seizures, drop attacks, or akinetic seizures), are a minor type of seizure. ... Muscle tone is the continuous and passive partial contraction of the muscles. ... Myoclonic seizures are brief twitches or jerks of muscles or groups of muscles. ... Focal seizures (also called partial seizures) are seizures which are characterized by consciousness, experiencing unusual feelings or sensations, sudden and unexplainable feelings of joy, anger, sadness or nausea, hearing, smelling, tasting, seeing, or feeling things that are not real, having a change or loss of consciousness (may appear dreamlike), and... A febrile seizure, also known as a fever fit or febrile convulsion is a generalized convulsion caused by elevated body temperature. ... See Fever for the Kylie Minogue album; Fever is also a song by Otis Blackwell. ... Epilepsy (often referred to as a seizure disorder) is a chronic neurological condition characterized by recurrent unprovoked seizures. ... An aura is the perceptual disturbance experienced by some migraine sufferers before a migraine headache, and the telltale sensation experienced by some epileptics before a seizure (often a strange light or unpleasant smell). ...

A person who is having seizures of any kind continuously, with little or no time separating one from the next, is said to be in "status epilepticus." This is a dangerous situation. It requires immediate emergency intervention, usually through the injection of appropriate anti-seizure drugs. When the person "in status" is pregnant, loss of the pregnancy is possible, raising the stakes even higher. A pregnant woman Pregnancy is the process by which a mammalian female carries a live offspring from conception until it develops to the point where the offspring is capable of living outside the womb. ...

Diagnosis

An isolated abnormal electrical activity recorded by an electroencephalography examination without a clinical presentation is not called a seizure. Nevertheless, they may identify background epileptogenic activity, as well as help identify particular causes of seizures. Electroencephalography is the neurophysiologic measurement of the electrical activity of the brain by recording from electrodes placed on the scalp or, in special cases, on the cortex. ...

Additional diagnostic methods include CT Scanning and MRI imaging or angiography. These may show structural lesions within the brain, but the majority of epileptics show nothing unusual.

As seizures have a differential diagnosis, it is common for patients to be simultaneously investigated for cardiac and endocrine causes. Checking glucose levels, for example, in a mandatory action in the management of seizures as hypoglycemia may cause seizures, and failure to administer glucose would be harmful to the patient. Other causes typically considered are syncope and cardiac arrhythmias, and occasionally panic attacks and cataplexy. For more information, see non-epileptic seizures. In medicine, differential diagnosis (sometimes abbreviated DDx or ΔΔ) is the systematic method physicians use to identify the disease causing a patients symptoms. ... Glucose (Glc), a monosaccharide (or simple sugar), is one of the most important carbohydrates. ... Hypoglycemia is a medical term referring to a pathologic state produced by a lower than normal amount of sugar (glucose) in the blood. ... Fainting or syncope is a sudden (and generally momentary) loss of consciousness due to a lack of sufficient blood and oxygen reaching the brain. ... Cardiac arrhythmia is a group of conditions in which the muscle contraction of the heart is irregular or is faster or slower than normal. ... A panic attack is a period of intense fear or discomfort, typically with an abrupt onset and usually lasting no more than thirty minutes. ... Categories: Possible copyright violations ... Non-epileptic seizures are paroxysmal events that mimic an epileptic seizure but do not have a primary neurological cause within the brain. ...

Management

The first-aid for a seizure depends on the type of seizure occurring. Generalised seizures will cause the person to fall, which may result in injury. A tonic-clonic seizure results in violent movements that cannot and should not be suppressed. The person should never be restrained, nor should there be any attempt to put something in the mouth. Potentially sharp or dangerous objects should also be moved from the vicinity, so that the individual does not hurt him or herself. After the seizure, if the person is not fully conscious and alert, they should be placed in the recovery position. A form of the recovery position. ...

It is not necessary to call an ambulance if the person is known to have epilepsy, the seizure is shorter than 5 minutes and is typical for them, it is not immediately followed by another seizure, and the person is uninjured. Otherwise, or if in any doubt, medical assistance should be sought.

A seizure longer than 5 minutes is a medical emergency. Relatives and other carers of those known to have epilepsy often carry medicine such as rectal diazepam or buccal midazolam in order to rapidly end the seizure. Diazepam (marketed under brand names Valium®, Seduxen® and Apozepam®)[1] is a drug which is a benzodiazepine derivative. ... Buccal mucosa is mucous membrane of the inside of the cheek. ... Midazolam, (marketed under brand names Versed®, Hypnovel® and Dormicum®) is a drug which is a benzodiazepine derivative. ...

Safety

Sometimes seizures can be "sensed" by the epileptic person minutes before it happens. In this case, it is advisable that one put some kind of head protection device on one's head, such as a helmet, and if one feels necessary, limb guards on appropriate limbs. Pickelhaube of a Swedish Royal Guard soldier For the band, see Helmet A helmet (a 15th century loan from Middle French, a diminutive of Frankish helm, from Proto-Germanic *khelmaz, PIE *kelmo- a cover) is a form of protective clothing worn on the head and usually made of metal or...

Some animals, such as dogs and cats, are also known to lie on top of epileptic children in order to hold them down and prevent them from injury in the case of seizure. Sometimes these animals can sense a seizure minutes, or even hours before it occurs, which may cause some unusual behavior in the animal that keeps trying to push the child down. Do not consider it aggressive behavior.^{[citation needed]}

External links

• MEDLINEplus: Seizures
• Epilepsy and seizure information for patients and health professionals : Epilepsy.com