Seizure Types

Seizure Types

Partial Seizures

Simple Partial
  • Presentation: Varied presentation dependent on which part of the cortex is affected
  • Duration: 20 to 60 seconds
  • Consciousness: Preserved.

Complex Partial
  • Presentation: Presentation incluces purposeless movement, e.g. lip smacking
  • Duration: 30 to 60 seconds
  • Consciousness: Impaired

Partial with Secondarily Generalized Tonic-Clonic Seizures
  • Presentation: Simple or complex partial becomes a tonic-clonic generalized seizure (tonic general muscular contractions) with alternating contractions and relaxations.
  • Duration: one- two minutes
  • Consciousness: Loss of Consciousness
Generalized Seizures

Absence Seizures
  • Presentation: Abrupt onset: staring and stopping activities
  • Duration: less than 30 seconds
  • Consciousness: Impaired

Myoclonic Seizures
  • Presentation: One or two brief shocklike muscle contractions; generalized or restricted to one limb
  • Duration: very brief
  • Consciousness: Preserved

Tonic-Clonic Seizures
  • Presentation: generalized seizure (tonic general muscular contractions) with alternating contractions and relaxations.
  • Duration: one- two minutes
  • Consciousness: Loss of Consciousness
[McNamara, J.O., Drugs Effective in the Therapy of the Epilepsies In, Goodman and Gillman's The Pharmacologial Basis of Therapeutics, (Hardman, J.G, Limbird, L.E, Molinoff, P.B., Ruddon, R.W, and Gilman, A.G., eds) TheMcGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.,1996, pp.462.