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PNES episodes can be difficult to distinguish from epileptic seizures without the use of long-term video EEG monitoring.Some characteristics which may distinguish PNES from epileptic seizures include gradual onset, out-of-phase limb movement (in which left and right extremities jerk asynchronously or in opposite directions, as opposed to rhythmically and simultaneously as in epileptic seizures ...
Physiological causes include fainting, sleep disorders, and heart arrhythmias. [2] [3] Psychological causes are known as psychogenic non-epileptic seizures. [3] Diagnosis may be based on the history of the event and physical examination with support from heart testing and an EEG. [3]
People also often have a family history of epilepsy and seem to have a genetically predisposed risk of seizures. IGE tends to manifest itself between early childhood and adolescence although it can be eventually diagnosed later. The genetic cause of some IGE types is known, though inheritance does not always follow a simple monogenic mechanism.
Diagnosis of epilepsy can be difficult. A number of other conditions may present very similar signs and symptoms to seizures, including syncope, hyperventilation, migraines, narcolepsy, panic attacks and psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES). [133] [134] In particular, syncope can be accompanied by a short episode of convulsions. [135]
Because epileptic seizures typically include convulsions, the term convulsion is often used as a synonym for seizure. [1] However, not all epileptic seizures result in convulsions, and not all convulsions are caused by epileptic seizures. [1] [2] Non-epileptic convulsions have no relation with epilepsy, and are caused by non-epileptic seizures. [1]
Automatism is a set of brief unconscious or automatic behaviors, [1] typically at least several seconds or minutes, while the subject is unaware of actions. This type of automatic behavior often occurs in certain types of epilepsy, such as complex partial seizures in those with temporal lobe epilepsy, [2] or as a side effect of particular medications such as zolpidem.
One retrospective observational study evaluated 328 selected patients from ages 16 to 57 years who had prolonged video-electroencephalogram (EEG) monitoring for medically intractable epilepsy and focal seizure onset; those with nonepileptic seizures, status epilepticus, and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome were excluded.
A typical absences seizure usually last between 10 and 30 seconds. [3] Mild automatisms could be seen during the course of the absence and stop with the end of the absence seizure. When an EEG is recorded during the typical absence seizure, a 3 Hz spike-and-wave discharges is recorded starting with the start of the arrest of the activity. At ...