Seizure

A seizure is a sudden burst of abnormal electrical activity in the brain that temporarily changes behavior, movement, sensation or awareness.

Seizures take many forms, from brief staring spells to full-body convulsions with loss of consciousness, and are classified by where they begin in the brain and whether awareness is affected. Causes include epilepsy, fever in young children, head injury, stroke, infection, low blood sugar and withdrawal from alcohol or certain drugs. In dogs and cats, seizures are also relatively common and may stem from idiopathic epilepsy, toxins or brain disease.

Assessment involves a detailed description of the event, often from a witness or video, a neurological examination, an electroencephalogram and brain imaging; veterinarians follow a similar approach in animals. A purified prescription cannabidiol is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for seizures in three specific epilepsy syndromes, which is distinct from other cannabinoid products, and research in canine epilepsy is preliminary.