Describing seizure types

When making a diagnosis of epilepsy, the doctor may use one of the following terms: idiopathic, cryptogenic or symptomatic. Idiopathic means that there is no apparent cause.

Cryptogenic means that doctors believe there is likely to be a cause but they are unable to find it.

Symptomatic means that a cause has been found.

Seizures can also be described by which part or parts of the brain the epileptic activity starts in. The three groups are: partial (also called focal), secondary generalised, and generalised.

• Partial seizures involve epileptic activity in just a part of the brain. Partial seizures can be divided into simple partial and complex partial.
  • In a simple partial seizure the person is fully conscious. They remain fully aware of their surroundings, despite seizure activity
  • In a complex partial seizure a person partly loses consciousness and they are not aware of what they are doing. Because of this, they may not remember the seizure afterwards, or their memory of it will be unclear.

• Generalised seizures involve epileptic activity in both halves of the brain. The person loses consciousness during the seizure.
  
  
• Sometimes, the epileptic activity that starts as a partial seizure can spread to the rest of the brain. When this happens, the seizure is known as secondary generalised.