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Epileptic and Nonepileptic Seizures after Traumatic Brain Injury

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Traumatic Brain Injury

Abstract

Representing approximately 5% of epilepsy in the civilian population and up to 50% in certain military populations, posttraumatic epilepsy warrants both increased clinical attention and research considerations. In this chapter, we will discuss the important definitions when considering posttraumatic epilepsy including the timing of posttraumatic seizures and the severity of head injuries. We will also review the epidemiology and risk factors for posttraumatic epilepsy in both the civilian population and the military and will describe the association of head trauma and psychogenic nonepileptic seizures. Our clinical discussion focuses on the timing of posttraumatic seizures, the utility of diagnostic testing, treatment of posttraumatic epilepsy, and outcomes of these patients. In addition, we elucidate potential pathophysiologic mechanisms underlying posttraumatic epilepsy and consider its role as a model for epileptogenesis in current and future research. We highlight the relevant studies in each section and underscore the theme that more research is certainly needed in most areas of posttraumatic epilepsy.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Katherine Hamilton

  2. VA Epilepsy Centers of Excellence, Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Karen Parko

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  1. Katherine Hamilton
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  2. Karen Parko
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Correspondence to Katherine Hamilton .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, USA

    Jack W. Tsao

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Hamilton, K., Parko, K. (2020). Epileptic and Nonepileptic Seizures after Traumatic Brain Injury. In: Tsao, J. (eds) Traumatic Brain Injury. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22436-3_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22436-3_10

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-22436-3

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