Definition
Absence epilepsy is a form of idiopathic generalized epilepsy that is characterized by seizures that involve sudden arrest in activity, awareness, and responsiveness, and may include some mild motor features. Typical absence seizures usually last less than 10 s and end as abruptly as they start. Patients have no recollection of the event and often return immediately to their previous activity with little or no post-ictal alterations in functioning. Generalized spike-and-wave discharges on EEG are required for the diagnosis and are strongly correlated with the clinical events.
Categorization
Childhood absence epilepsy (CAE).
Juvenile absence epilepsy (JAE).
Epidemiology
Incidence reports of absence epilepsy range from 49 to 98 per 100,000. Among children with epilepsy, 2–8% have been estimated to have CAE. The incidence of JAE has not been well-studied. Estimates suggest that...
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References and Readings
Aicardi, J. (1998). Diseases of the nervous system in childhood. London: Mac Keith.
Berkovic, S. F., & Benbadis, S. (2001). Childhood and juvenile absence epilepsy. In E. Wyllie (Ed.), The treatment of epilepsy: Principles and practice (3rd ed. pp. 485–490). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.485–490).
Caplan, R., Siddarth, P., Stahl, L., Lanphier, E., Vona, P., Gurbani, S., Koh, S., Sankar, R., & Shields, W. D. (2008). Childhood absence epilepsy: Behavioral, cognitive, and linguistic comorbidities. Epilepsia, 49(11), 1838–1846.
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Titus, J.B., Kanive, R., Morrissey, M. (2011). Absence Epilepsy. In: Kreutzer, J.S., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79948-3_1504
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79948-3_1504
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
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