Convulsion
an intense paroxysm of involuntary repetitive muscular contractions, is
inappropriate for a disorder that may consist only of an alteration of
sensation or consciousness
Seizure
preferable as a generic term, since it embraces a diversity of
paroxysmal events and also because it lends itself to qualification
Classification
Seizures
Etiology
Idiopathic (primary)
Symptomatic (secondary)
Site of origin
Clinical form
Generalized
Focal
Frequency
Isolated
Cyclic
Repetitive
Electrophysiologic correlates
Partial / focal seizures Generalized seizures
Simple Convulsive seizures
consciousness is undisturbed Tonic-clonic (grand mal)
Complex seizures
consciousness is altered Less common
Purely tonic, purely clonic,
generalized clonic-tonic-clonic
Non-convulsive seizures
brief lapse of consciousness
or absence (petit mal)
minor motor phenomena
(brief myoclonic, atonic, or
tonic seizures)
Etiology (seizures)
Pathophysiology
Mechanisms of Seizure Initiation and Propagation
Initiation phase
high-frequency bursts of action potentials
relatively long-lasting depolarization of the neuronal membrane due to
influx of extracellular calcium opening of voltage-dependent sodium
(Na+) channels influx of Na+ repetitive action potentials
Hypersynchronization
Followed by hyperpolarizing afterpotential mediated by G-aminobutyric
acid (GABA) receptors or potassium (K+) channels, but it is not functioning
well synchronized bursts from a sufficient number of neurons spike
discharge on the EEG
EEG pattern
generalized three-per-second spike and wave pattern
Other type of seizure that simulate petit mal
Atypical petit mal
long runs of slow spike-and-wave activity, usually with no apparent loss
of consciousness
External stimuli (asking the patient to answer a question) interrupt
the run of abnormal EEG activity
West syndrome
infantile spasms
EEG picture (3-Hz hypsarrhythmia)
arrest in mental development
Myoclonic seizure
brusque, brief, muscular contraction
some myoclonic jerks are so small as to involve only one
muscle or part of a muscle
may occur intermittently and unpredictably or present as a
single jerk or a brief salvo
Signs
outbreak of several small, rhythmic myoclonic jerks may appear
with varying frequency as part of absence seizures
as isolated events in patients with generalized clonic-tonic-clonic
or tonic-clonic seizures
Quite benign & respond well to medication
Disseminated myoclonus (polymyoclonus)
Childhood
acute viral encephalitis
the myoclonus-opsoclonus-ataxia syndrome of Kinsbourne
Lithium or other drug toxicity
If lasting for few weeks subacute sclerosing panencephalitis
Chronic progressive polymyoclonus + dementia
group of juvenile lipidosis, Lafora type familial myoclonic epilepsy
progressive dementia, myoclonus, and episode of generalized seizure
certain mitochondrial disorders
other chronic familial degenerative diseases of undefined type (paramyoclonus
multiplex of Friedreich, dyssynergia cerebellaris myoclonica of Ramsay Hunt)
middle and late adult years, disseminated myoclonus + dementia
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease; alzheimer disease (rare)
Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy
most common form of idiopathic generalized epilepsy in older
children and young adults
begins in adolescence (15 yo)
Clinical signs
generalized seizure often upon awakening
myoclonic jerks in the morning that involve the entire body
occasional myoclonic jerks of the arm and upper trunk that become
prominent with fatigue, during early stages of sleep, or after alcohol
ingestion
EEG pattern
bursts of 4- to 6-Hz irregular polyspike activity
Th/ valproic acid
Partial seizure
Frontal lobe partial seizure (focal & jacksonian)
Somatosensory, Visual, and Other Types of Sensory
Seizures
Complex Partial Seizures (Psychomotor Seizures, Temporal
Lobe Seizures)
Partial / focal seizure
Partial / focal seizure Generalized seizure
often the product of a clinical and EEG manifestations
demonstrable focal lesion or indicate bilateral and diffuse
EEG abnormality cerebral cortical involvement
in some part of the cerebral from the onset
cortex
Simple
Consciousness retained
arise from foci in the
sensorimotor cortex
Complex
focus in the temporal lobe on
one side or the other, but a
frontal localization is also well
known
Frontal Lobe Partial Seizures
(Focal Motor and Jacksonian Seizures)
Focal motor seizure
e/ discharging lesion of the opposite frontal lobe
Most common type originating in the supplementary motor
area
movement of the head and eyes to the side opposite the irritative focus
often associated with a tonic contraction of the trunk and limbs on that
side
entire seizure / generalized clonic movements, before or with loss of
unconsciousness
Clinical sign
forceful, sustained deviation of the head and eyes, and sometimes of
the entire body (versive / adversive) opposite side (contraversive);
same side (ipsiversive)
seizures of temporal lobe origin head turning ipsilaterally followed
by forceful contraversive head (and body) turning
Jacksonian motor seizure
tonic contraction of the fingers of one hand, the face on one
side, or the muscles of one foot clonic movements
Localized movement / spread movement (march from the part
first affected to other muscles on the same side of the body)
Classic jacksonian form
seizure spreads from the hand, up the arm, to the face, and down the leg;
if the first movement is in the foot, the seizure marches up the leg, down the
arm, and to the face (uncommon)
one-sided seizure activity turning of the head and eyes to
the convulsing side generalized seizure with loss of
consciousness
Consciousness is not lost if the sensorimotor symptoms remain confined
to one side
may be a transient paralysis of the affected limbs persists for minutes
or at times for hours after seizure (Todds paralysis)
If there are continued focal paralysis presence of a focal brain lesion
focus of excitation is usually in or near the rolandic (motor) cortex
onset of focal motor epilepsy in the hand
high medial frontal lesions (area 8 and supplementary motor complex)
Tonic elevation and extension of the contralateral arm (fencers posture)
and choreoathetotic and dystonic postures have been
complex, bizarre, and flailing movements of a contralateral limb (hysterical
seizure)
Seizure discharges arising from the cortical language areas brief
aphasic disturbance (ictal aphasia) and ejaculation of a word, or, more
frequently, a vocal arrest
Somatosensory, Visual, and
Other Types of Sensory Seizures
Somatosensory seizures
e/ a focus in or near the postrolandic convolution of the
opposite cerebral hemisphere
numbness, tingling, or a pins-and-needles feeling and
occasionally as a sensation of crawling, electricity, or movement
of the part
in the lips, fingers, or toes, and the spread to adjacent parts of the
body follows a pattern determined by sensory arrangements in the
postcentral convolution of the parietal lobe
Visual seizures
e/ Lesions in or near the striate cortex of the occipital lobe
elemental visual sensations of darkness or sparks and flashes of
light, which may be stationary or moving and colorless / colored
Seizure arising in one occipital lobe momentary blindness in
both fields
temporal half of a homonymous field defect
lesions on the lateral surface of the occipital lobe sensation
of twinkling or pulsating lights
focus in the posterior part of the temporal lobe near its junction
with occipital lobe visual hallucinations & auditory
hallucinations
Auditory hallucinations
Infrequent
e/ focus in one superior temporal convolution
buzzing or roaring in the ears
Human voice sometimes repeating unrecognizable words / the
sounds of music
Vertiginous sensations
e/ lesion in the superoposterior temporal region (junction
between parietal and temporal lobes)
sensation of vertigo
With a temporal focus vertigo is followed by an auditory
sensation
Giddiness, or light-headedness, is a frequent prelude of seizure
Olfactory hallucinations
e/ disease of the inferior and medial parts of the temporal
lobe
perceived odor is exteriorized (disagreeable or foul,
unidentifiable)
Gustatory hallucinations
e/ lesions of the insula and parietal operculum
salivation and a sensation of thirst may be associated
Complex Partial Seizures
(Psychomotor Seizures, Temporal Lobe Seizures)
Signs
the aura
focal seizure of simple type / hallucination (visual and auditory) /
perceptual illusion indicating temporal lobe origin
Objects or persons in the environment may shrink / enlarge in the
distance (micropsia/macropsia); perseverate as the head is moved
(palinopsia)
dyscognitive state (dj vu & jamais vu)
certain old memories or scenes may insert / abrupt interruption of
memory
Emotional experiences (sadness, loneliness, anger, happiness)
Postictal behavior
global and nonfluent aphasia (left sided origin)
Prolonged disorientation for time and place (right sided origin)
Postictal nose wiping is carried out by the hand ipsilateral to the
seizure focus
Other manifestation
Amnesic seizure
Rarely, brief, recurrent attacks of transient amnesia (manifestations of
temporal lobe epilepsy)
Behavioural & psychiatric seizure
Post ictal state protracted paranoid-delusional or amnesic psychosis
lasting for days or weeks
Epileptic personality disorder
exhibit a number of abnormalities of behavior and personality during
the interictal period (slow and rigid in their thinking, verbose,
circumstantial and tedious in conversation, inclined to mysticism,
preoccupied with rather naive religious and philosophical ideas)
Special epileptic syndromes
Benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes & epilepsy
with occipital spikes
5-9 years of age; autosomal dominant trait
nocturnal tonic-clonic seizure with focal onset; one side of the face
(centrotemporal spikes)
visual hallucinations, sensations of movements of the eyes, tinnitus, or
vertigo (occipital spikes)