Doctors can diagnose atonic seizures on the basis of witness accounts, EEG readings, or CT and MRI scans. Medication is the most common treatment, but ketogenic diets, vagus nerve stimulation, and surgery are other possibilities.

How do I know if I had an atonic seizure?

"Atonic" (a-TON-ik) means "without tone." So in an atonic seizure, muscles suddenly become limp. Part or all of the body may become limp. The eyelids may droop, the head may nod or drop forward, and the person may drop things. If standing, the person often falls to the ground.

Can seizures be missed on EEG?

The likelihood of recording a seizure during a routine EEG is small. The EEG generally records brain waves between seizures, called interictal brain waves. These waves may or may not show evidence of seizure activity.

What happens if seizures don't show on EEG?

Some people can have epileptiform brain activity even when they do not appear to be having a seizure, so an EEG can be particularly useful for them. Epileptiform activity can sometimes be provoked (brought on) by deep breathing.

Is atonic seizures a form of epilepsy?

Atonic seizures are commonly the type of seizure experienced with specific types of epilepsy, such as Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS) and Dravet syndrome (DS). LGS is a severe childhood form of epilepsy involving: Medication refractory seizures (when medication doesn't reduce the seizure episodes)

EEG in Epilepsy

34 related questions found

What can trigger an atonic seizure?

The cause of atonic seizures is often unknown. Some patients may be more likely to have seizures because of changes in their genes. Atonic seizures most often affect children but can occur in patients of any age. Rapid breathing (hyperventilation) and flickering lights can trigger seizures.

Are atonic seizures rare?

Atonic seizures are rare and are usually confined to childhood. The majority of children with drop attacks have myoclonic or tonic seizures.

What can an EEG tell you about seizures?

It is most often used to determine the type and origin of seizures. For example, if you have a seizure disorder, the EEG can show where abnormal activity in your brain comes from and can help distinguish between generalized or focal seizures.

What can mimic a seizure?

Many conditions have symptoms similar to epilepsy, including first seizures, febrile seizures, nonepileptic events, eclampsia, meningitis, encephalitis, and migraine headaches.

• First Seizures. ...
• Febrile Seizures. ...
• Nonepileptic Events. ...
• Eclampsia. ...
• Meningitis. ...
• Encephalitis. ...
• Migraine.

Do simple partial seizures show on an EEG?

Overall, among the 87 simple partial seizures, only 18 (21%) revealed ictal EEG changes. Thus, a normal EEG is common during simple partial seizures and does not exclude the diagnosis.

What does seizure look like on EEG?

Certain other patterns indicate a tendency toward seizures. Your doctor may refer to these waves as "epileptiform abnormalities" or "epilepsy waves." They can look like spikes, sharp waves, and spike-and-wave discharges.

Can you have seizures without having epilepsy?

Seizures that are not due to epilepsy are sometimes called 'non-epileptic seizures'. They can have a physical cause such as low blood sugar (hypoglycaemia) or may be related to how the heart is working. Or they may have a psychological cause.

How accurate is EEG test?

EEG review yielded 1-week accuracy in 10–52% of recordings, and 2-week accuracy in 28–75% of recordings (n = 146; Fig. 3E and F).

Can stress cause atonic seizures?

The reason is that all of these situations change your brain's excitability. Your brain is very sensitive to these changes, and if there is a big enough change from normal, you may begin to have a seizure. Emotional stress also can lead to seizures.

What do you do if someone is having an atonic seizure?

If you think you're having an atonic seizure, try to stay calm. This type of seizure is brief. If you think someone else is having an atonic seizure, stay with them until they regain movement or consciousness. Typically, first aid for atonic seizures isn't required unless you or the person get hurt during a fall.

Are drop attacks serious?

Drop attacks are very serious as they often result in falls and breakage of bones. Treatment is individualized according to the diagnosis. Because in many instances, no diagnosis is established, no treatment may be advocated.

What is reflex anoxic seizures?

Reflex Anoxic Seizures (RAS) is the term used for a particular fit which is neither epileptic nor due to cyanotic breath-holding, but which rather results from a brief stoppage of the heart through excessive activity of the vagus nerve.

What is Rasmussen syndrome?

Rasmussen's encephalitis (RE) is a very rare, chronic inflammatory neurological disease that usually affects only one hemisphere (half) of the brain. It most often occurs in children under the age of 10 but can also affect adolescents and adults.

What neurological disorders cause seizures?

Epilepsy is a central nervous system (neurological) disorder in which brain activity becomes abnormal, causing seizures or periods of unusual behavior, sensations and sometimes loss of awareness. Anyone can develop epilepsy.

Can EEG cause seizures?

In rare instances, an EEG can cause seizures in a person with a seizure disorder. This is due to the flashing lights or the deep breathing that may be involved during the test. If you do get a seizure, your healthcare provider will treat it immediately.

What is a low seizure threshold?

If you have a low seizure threshold, your brain is less resistant to seizures. So you are more likely to suddenly start having seizures for no obvious reason than someone with a high seizure threshold. Your doctors may be able to tell you what has caused your seizures to start, but this is not always possible.

Can a doctor tell if you've had a seizure?

Electroencephalogram (EEG)–Using electrodes attached to your head, your doctors can measure the electrical activity in your brain. This helps to look for patterns to determine if and when another seizure might occur, and it can also help them rule out other possibilities.

Are atonic seizures genetic?

Epilepsy with myoclonic-atonic seizures can be inherited from an affected parent or occur for the first time in a family as a sporadic disease.

How often do drop attacks occur?

The incidence of drop attack (DA) is unknown, even if some Authors have estimated that the attacks occur in about 6% of MD patients ⁵. Others have reported similar values ⁶ while others report very high values ⁷. This difference is possibly due to different diagnostic criteria.

Are atonic seizures partial?

Atonic seizures have also been reported to occur in the context of partial epilepsy in adults. 7, 8 In such cases, video-EEG monitoring is mandatory to achieve a correct diagnosis, while magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is needed to evaluate for specific etiologies, such as cortical malformations. Satow et al.