Post-Traumatic Seizures

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About Post-Traumatic Seizures

Symptoms

  • Seizure symptoms can vary from small absence seizures, where the person is unresponsive for a few seconds or minutes, to generalized seizures, with possible falling, convulsions and repetitive behavior.

Treatment

  • Recovery after brain injury varies widely.
  • Use of the anticonvulsant medication phenytoin during the first week after head injury reduces the risk of post-traumatic seizures by 70 percent to 75 percent.
  • It is unclear if anticonvulsant therapy reduces the risk after one week post injury.
  • The UCLA Epilepsy Program offers surgical techniques that reduce or eliminate some seizure activity.