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Epilepsy glossary - S
Second line drug – AEDs that are usually used alongside other AEDs. These are also called ‘add-on’ drugs.
Secondarily generalised seizures – seizures that start as partial seizures but the seizure activity spreads and affects the whole of the brain. In simple terms these are ‘small seizures’ that become ‘big seizures’. The partial seizure start is sometimes called an ‘aura’ or ‘seizure warning’, and they usually become tonic clonic seizures.
Seizure – a sudden, short-lived event that causes a change in the person’s behaviour, awareness or consciousness. There are lots of different causes and types of seizures including epileptic seizures, hypoglycaemic (diabetic) seizures, non-epileptic seizures, syncope (fainting), and seizures caused by a heart problem. In epilepsy we often refer to ‘epileptic seizures’ as just ‘seizures’ which can be quite confusing!
Seizure-free – when a person’s seizures are fully controlled, usually with AEDs, and stop happening.
Seizure threshold – every person’s individual resistance to seizures. Anyone could have an epileptic seizure under the right circumstances, but most people don’t if they have a high level of resistance to them. Seizures might suddenly start in a person with a low seizure threshold, or an accident or infection could lower a person’s threshold and they could start having seizures.
Serum levels – a way of monitoring the amount of AED in a person’s body. See therapeutic drug monitoring.
Side effects – effects of medication that happen alongside the effects you are expecting (the reason you are taking it). Side effects are usually, but not always, unwanted. They are also called ‘adverse effects’.
Simple partial seizures (SPS) – seizures that involve a small part (not the whole) of the brain. In SPS the person is fully conscious and aware of what is happening. What exactly happens depends on where in the brain the seizure is (the frontal, temporal, occipital or parietal lobes) and what that part of the brain does. SPS are sometimes called ‘auras’ or ‘warnings’ if they become secondarily generalised seizures. Some symptoms, such as a strange ‘rising’ feeling in the stomach (like when you go on a fairground ride and ‘lose your tummy at the top’) or pins and needles, can happen in people who do not have epilepsy but can also be SPS.
SPECT (Single Photon Emission Computerised Tomography) – a type of scan or way of imaging the brain that combines CT and PET scans. SPECT might be used if a person is being considered for epilepsy surgery.
Spontaneous remission – when seizures stop happening (go away) of their own accord.
Status epilepticus (‘status’ for short) – a state that happens when a seizure does not stop of its own accord or a series of seizures happen without the person recovering in between. Status officially happens when a seizure continues for 30 minutes. Status can be life-threatening in a tonic clonic seizure, and has to be stopped with rescue medication.
Subclinical seizure – a seizure that can be seen on an EEG but can’t been seen by looking at the person.
SUDEP (Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy) – when a person with epilepsy suddenly dies and no reason for their death can be seen. SUDEP usually happens at night when the person is in bed, and it is not usually seen by anyone else (unwitnessed). Although we don’t know for sure, it is thought that SUDEP happens during a seizure, and the person’s breathing or heart stops.
Symptomatic epilepsy – epilepsy where there is a known physical cause of the person’s seizures. This could be due to a scar on the brain, an accident or head injury, or a stroke or brain tumour. Structural causes can often be seen on an MRI.
Syncope – when someone loses consciousness and collapses because the oxygen getting to their brain temporarily stops. This can be because of a drop in blood pressure, a change in the heart beat (and not enough blood is pumped through the heart), or because of a reduced amount of oxygen in the blood. Syncope can look like an epileptic seizure but usually starts with typical symptoms such as feeling light-headed, or reduced or blurred vision. Syncope is also another word for ‘faint’.
