Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Abdominal epilepsy
Introduction
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Overview
Overview
Abdominal epilepsy describes a group of gastrointestinal (GI) disturbances caused by epileptiform seizure activity seen on EEG tracing. While a causal relationship has not been proven, the GI symptoms cannot be explained by other pathophyisological mechanisms, and are seen to improve upon anticonvulsant treatment.
The phenomenon seems to be very rare, with a total of 36 case reports published in the English medical literature during the last 35 years. Trousseau is commonly credited as the first to describe the condition in 1868 in a boy with paroxysmal GI symptoms culminating in grand mal epileptic seizures.
The first account of abdominal epilepsy supported by EEG tracings came in 1944 in an article by M.T. Moore, followed by several subsequent case reports from the same group.
Literature
Literature
- M.T. Moore, “Paroxysmal abdominal pain: a form of focal symptomatic epilepsy”, JAMA.1944 124 561-563
- Zinkin,Peppercornet. al. “Abdominal epilepsy”, Best Pract Res Clin Gastroenterol. 2005 Apr;19(2):263-74.
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]