Types Of Seizures Presented By: Myeshi Briley,HS-BCP

1. Types Of Seizures
Presented By:
Myeshi Briley,HS-BCP

2. Types Of
Seizures
• Many different disorders can affect the brain, causing different types of
seizures. What occurs during an epileptic seizure depends on the area of the
brain involved. Seizures can range from mild to completely debilitating.

3. Types Of
Seizures
• Tonic – stiffening of muscles lasting a few seconds up to a minute
• Atonic – brief loss of muscle tone, causing falls (also known as "drop
attacks" or "drop seizures")
• Tonic-clonic – begins with stiffening of the limbs (the tonic phase),
followed by jerking of the limbs and face (the clonic phase)
• Absence – staring spells lasting for many seconds
• Myoclonic – sudden muscle jerks lasting for many seconds up to a minute
• Clonic – a pattern of jerking movements
• Partial – limited to a specific area of the brain; sometimes consciousness
may be lost

4. Types Of
Seizures
• There are six types of generalized seizures. The most common and
dramatic, and therefore the most well known, is the generalized convulsion,
also called the grand-mal seizure. In this type of seizure, the patient loses
consciousness and usually collapses. The loss of consciousness is followed
by generalized body stiffening (called the "tonic" phase of the seizure) for
30 to 60 seconds, then by violent jerking (the "clonic" phase) for 30 to 60
seconds, after which the patient goes into a deep sleep (the "postictal" or
after-seizure phase). During grand-mal seizures, injuries and accidents may
occur, such as tongue biting and urinary incontinence

5. Types Of
Seizures
• Absence seizures cause a short loss of consciousness (just a few seconds)
with few or no symptoms. The patient, most often a child, typically
interrupts an activity and stares blankly. These seizures begin and end
abruptly and may occur several times a day. Patients are usually not aware
that they are having a seizure, except that they may be aware of "losing
time."

6. Types Of
Seizures
Myoclonic seizures consist of sporadic jerks, usually on both sides of
the body. Patients sometimes describe the jerks as brief electrical
shocks. When violent, these seizures may result in dropping or
involuntarily throwing objects.

7. Types Of
Seizures
• Clonic seizures are repetitive, rhythmic jerks that involve both sides of the
body at the same time.

8. Types Of
Seizures
• Tonic seizures are characterized by stiffening of the muscles.

9. Types Of
Seizures
• Atonic seizures consist of a sudden and general loss of muscle tone,
particularly in the arms and legs, which often results in a fall.

10. Types Of
Seizures
• Partial Seizures
• Partial seizures are divided into simple, complex and those that evolve
into secondary generalized seizures. The difference between simple and
complex seizures is that during simple partial seizures, patients retain
awareness; during complex partial seizures, they lose awareness.

11. Types Of
Seizures
• Simple partial seizures are further subdivided into four categories
according to the nature of their symptoms: motor, autonomic, sensory, or
psychological. Motor symptoms include movements such as jerking and
stiffening. Sensory symptoms caused by seizures involve unusual
sensations affecting any of the five senses (vision, hearing, smell, taste, or
touch). When simple partial seizures cause sensory symptoms only (and not
motor symptoms), they are called "auras."

12. Types Of
Seizures
• Simple partial seizures
• Autonomic symptoms affect the autonomic nervous system, which is the
group of nerves that control the functions of our organs, like the heart,
stomach, bladder, intestines. Therefore autonomic symptoms are things like
racing heart beat, stomach upset, diarrhea, loss of bladder control. The only
common autonomic symptom is a peculiar sensation in the stomach that is
experienced by some patients with a type of epilepsy called temporal lobe
epilepsy. Simple partial seizures with psychological symptoms are
characterized by various experiences involving memory (the sensation of
deja-vu), emotions (such as fear or pleasure), or other complex
psychological phenomena.

13. Types Of
Seizures
• Complex partial seizures, by definition, include impairment of awareness.
Patients seem to be "out of touch," "out of it," or "staring into space" during
these seizures. There may also be some "complex" symptoms called
automatisms. Automatisms consist of involuntary but coordinated
movements that tend to be purposeless and repetitive. Common
automatisms include lip smacking, chewing, fidgeting, and walking.
• The third kind of partial seizure is one that begins as a focal seizure and
evolves into a generalized convulsive ("grand-mal") seizure. Most patients
with partial seizures have simple partial, complex partial, and secondarily
generalized seizures. In about two-thirds of patients with partial epilepsy,
seizures can be controlled with medications. Partial seizures that cannot be
treated with drugs can often be treated surgically.

14. Types Of
Seizures
• Non-epileptic Seizures
• What is a non-epileptic seizure ?
• Non-epileptic seizure (SE-zhur), or NES, is a short period of symptoms that
change how you move, think, or feel. NES looks like an epileptic seizure
(convulsion). With NES, there are no electrical changes in the brain. With
epileptic seizures, abnormal changes in the brain are present during the
attack. NES is more common in women and usually affects those between
15 to 35 years of age. NES is a serious condition and early diagnosis and
treatment are needed to prevent further problem.
• Non-epileptic seizures are paroxysmal events that mimic an epileptic
seizure but do not involve abnormal, rhythmic discharges of cortical
neurons.[1] They are caused by either physiological or psychological
conditions. The latter is discussed more fully in psychogenic non-epileptic
seizures.

15. Types Of
Seizures
• What causes a non-epileptic seizure?
• There are two types of NES. Physiologic which is caused by conditions that
affect blood, oxygen and sugar available to the brain, and psychogenic
which is caused by the body's reaction to severe psychologic (mental)
stress.

16. Types Of
Seizures
• Physiologic NES
– Alcohol: Drinking alcohol too much and too often. Different people
have different ideas about what too much means. How often you drink
is as important as how much you drink alcohol. Alcohol is found in
beer, wine, liquor, such as vodka and whiskey, or other adult drinks.
– Drugs: Using illegal or street drugs.

17. Types Of
Seizures
– Syncopal attacks: Sudden drops in blood pressure leading to fainting
spells.
– Hypoglycemia: Episodes of low blood sugar.
– Sleep disorders: Abnormal sleeping patterns.

18. Types Of Seizures:
Reference:
• http://www.banzel.com/LGS/Seizures.aspx
• http://www.webmd.com/epilepsy/guide/types-of-seizures-their-
symptoms
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-epileptic_seizure
• http://www.drugs.com/cg/non-epileptic-seizures.html

19. Types Of
Seizures
Reference:
• American Academy of Family Physicians
11400 Tomahawk Creek Parkway
Leawood , KS 66211-2680
Phone: 1- 913 - 906-6000
Phone: 1- 800 - 274-2237
Web Address: http://www.aafp.org
• American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
3615 Wisconsin Avenue NW
Washington , DC 20016
Phone: 1- 202 - 966-7300
Web Address: http://www.aacap.org

20. Types Of
Seizures
Thank You,
Myeshi Briley, HS-BCP