The Definition of a Seizure, Clinical Controversies: Michael Sperling, MD

WATCH TIME: 3 minutes

“In one sense, the definition of seizure technically incorporates things that clearly aren't seizures, spikes in high frequency oscillations and in the other sense, things that are clearly seizures by EEG, don't fit the definition.”

Epilepsy is defined as a medical condition with a tendency to have seizures. The term ‘seizure’ can have multiple definitions and meanings which takes a primitive importance with the diagnosis as well as the clinical management for patients with epilepsy.

At the 2022 American Epilepsy Society Annual Meeting, held December 2 to 6, in Nashville, Tennessee, Michael Sperling, MD, gave a talk in a symposium based on “what is a seizure after all?”. The symposium focused on defining ‘seizures’ from different clinical perspectives and provided a comprehensive concept of what happens. There were provocative, basic, computational, cellular, and translational lectures that occurred within the session for encouraging further discussion.

Sperling, Baldwin Keyes professor of neurology, Thomas Jefferson University, sat down with NeurologyLive^® in an interview and shared an overview of his talk on the clinical controversies on the definition of a seizure. He explained that issues with the current definition of a ‘seizure’, what it is lacking, and how the term applies to pediatric and adult patients with epilepsy.

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REFERENCES
1. Sperling M. Clinical Controversies on the Definition of a 'Seizure'. Presented at: AES Annual Meeting; December 2-6, 2022; Nashville, TN, and virtual. Epilepsy Specialist Symposium.