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Secondary seizures; Reactive seizures; Seizure - secondary; Seizure - reactive
A seizure is the physical findings or changes in behavior that occur after an episode of abnormal electrical activity in the brain.
See also:
It may be hard to tell if someone is having a seizure. Some seizures only cause a person to have staring spells, which may go unnoticed. Specific symptoms of a seizure depend on what part of the brain is involved. They occur suddenly and may include:
Symptoms may stop after a few minutes, or continue for 15 minutes. They rarely continue longer.
Causes of seizures can include:
Sometimes no cause can be identified. This is called idiopathic seizures. They usually are seen in children and young adults but can occur at any age. There may be a family history of epilepsy or seizures.
If seizures repeatedly continue after the underlying problem is treated, the condition is called epilepsy.
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Krumholz A, Wiebe S, Gronseth G, et al. Practice parameter: evaluating an apparent unprovoked first seizure in adults (an evidence-based review): report of the Quality Standards Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology and the American Epilepsy Society. Neurology. 2007;69(21):1991-2007.
Rubin DH, Kornblau DH, Conway EE Jr, Caplen SM. Neurologic Disorders. In: Marx JA, ed. Rosen’s Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Mosby Elsevier; 2009:chap 173.
Walker SP, Permezel M, Berkovic SF. The management of epilepsy in pregnancy. BJOG. 2009 May;116(6):758-67.
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