generalized epilepsy

An epilepsy syndrome that is characterized by generalised seizures with no apparent cause which arise from many independent foci (multifocal epilepsies) or from epileptic circuits that involve the whole brain.

Signs and symptoms

• Bilateral tonic-clonic seizure
• EEG with spike-wave complexes (>3.5 Hz)
• Generalized myoclonic seizure
• Generalized non-motor (absence) seizure

Also known as: idiopathic generalized epilepsy