Technology in Diagnosing Epilepsy, Seizures in Newborns: Solomon Moshe, MD; Elissa Yozawitz, MD

"By understanding it and linking it to the EEG, clinicians will have a better visual representation of what the seizure types. The clinical observation and widespread availability of EEG has helped.”

For 8 years, pediatric neurologists around the world have been working together to create recommendations specifically for newborns who present with seizures. In February 2021, the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) published a modification to the 2017 ILAE Classification of Seizures and Epilepsies which emphasized the role of electroencephalography (EEG) diagnosis of seizures in the neonate and includes a classification of seizure types relevant to this age group.

ILAE notes in its published report that seizures can occur with or without clinical manifestations, and that descriptors are determined by the predominant clinical feature and divided into motor, non-motor, and sequential. ILAE past president Solomon, L. Moshe, MD, Charles Frost Chair in Neurosurgery and Neurology, and Elissa Yozawitz, MD, director of Neonatal Neurology, both at Montefiore Medical Center, were part of the task force.

In an interview with NeurologyLive, the duo detailed the role technology played into making these modifications, and how it can continue to improve overall diagnosis and clinical care for newborns with seizures.

To read the modifications, click here.

REFERENCE

Pressler RM, Cilio MR, Mizrahi EM, et al. The ILAE classification of seizures and the epilepsies: modification for seizures in the neonate. Position paper by the ILAE Task Force on Neonatal Seizures. Epilepsia. Published February 1, 2021. doi: 10.1111/epi.16815