Clinical features
An epileptic seizure is a brief episode of symptoms and signs caused by the response to an abnormal electrical discharge in the brain.
These symptoms may include disturbances of consciousness, behaviour, emotion, movement or sensation. Older words for seizures include convulsions, fits, attacks and turns.
Epilepsy is the tendency to have recurrent seizures even if a long interval separates attacks.
Typically, a seizure lasts from a few seconds to a few minutes. Following a seizure the person normally recovers completely. Seizures may be stereotyped for a given patient.
The time taken for complete recovery from an attack may vary from a few minutes to several hours, days, or even a week. There is a wide range of effects, some of which are minor.
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Amended November 2008
