Saturday, February, 11, 2012

Partial (focal) seizure

Table of Contents

Alternative Names

Focal seizure; Jacksonian seizure; Seizure - partial (focal); Temporal lobe seizure


Symptoms

Patients with focal seizures can have any of the symptoms below, depending on where in the brain the seizure starts.

Patients with simple focal seizures do not lose consciousness and will be aware of and remember the events that occur at the time.

Patients with complex partial seizures will have abnormal consciousness and may or may not remember any or all of the symptoms or events surrounding the seizure.

  • Abnormal muscle contraction
    • Muscle contraction/relaxation (clonic activity) -- common
    • Affects one side of the body (leg, part of the face, or other area)
    • Abnormal head movements
    • Forced turning of the head
  • Complex, repetitive movements (such as picking at clothes) -- these are called automatisms and include:
    • Abnormal mouth movements
    • Lip smacking
    • Behaviors that seem to be a habit
    • Chewing/swallowing without cause
  • Forced turning of the eyes
  • Abnormal sensations
    • Numbness , tingling , crawling sensation (like ants crawling on the skin)
    • May occur in only one part of the body, or may spread
    • May occur with or without motor symptoms
  • Hallucinations
  • Abdominal pain or discomfort
  • Nausea
  • Sweating
  • Flushed face
  • Dilated pupils
  • Rapid heart rate/pulse

Other symptoms:

  • Blackout spells -- periods of time lost from memory
  • Changes in vision
  • Sensation of deja vu
  • Changes in mood or emotion

See also: Epilepsy; Seizures


Review Date: 01/23/2010
Reviewed By: Linda Vorvick, MD, Medical Director, MEDEX Northwest Division of Physician Assistant Studies, University of Washington School of Medicine; Luc Jasmin, MD, PhD, Department of Neurosurgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, and Department of Anatomy at UCSF, San Francisco, CA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)