Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Seizures
Seizures are symptoms of a brain problem. They happen because of sudden, abnormal electrical activity in the brain. When people think of seizures, they often think of convulsions in which a person's body shakes rapidly and uncontrollably. Not all seizures cause convulsions. There are many types of seizures and some have mild symptoms. Seizures fall into two main groups. Focal seizures, also called partial seizures, happen in just one part of the brain. Generalized seizures are a result of abnormal activity on both sides of the brain.
Most seizures last from 30 seconds to 2 minutes and do not cause lasting harm. However, it is a medical emergency if seizures last longer than 5 minutes or if a person has many seizures and does not wake up between them. Seizures can have many causes, including medicines, high fevers, head injuries and certain diseases. People who have recurring seizures due to a brain disorder have epilepsy.
It sits within Brain and Nerves.
The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Seizures
1,454 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- HOBSCOTCH-YOUTH and Young AdultsDartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center
- PeRampanel fOr Status ePilEpticus pRophylaxis Post-cardiac ArrestUniversity of California, San Francisco
- buRst-supprESsion TO Stop Refractory Status Epilepticus Post-cardiac ArrestUniversity of California, San Francisco
- Efficacy and Safety of Encaleret Compared to Standard of Care in Participants With ADH1Calcilytix Therapeutics, Inc., a BridgeBio company
- A Clinical Study to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of ETX101 in Infants and Children With SCN1A-Positive Dravet SyndromeEncoded Therapeutics
- Natural History of Treated Neurocysticercosis and Long-Term OutcomesNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Research already completed
- OASIS: RetrOspective Analysis on EEGs for Identifying Seizure Susceptibility in paediatrIcs Using biomarkerSNeuronostics Ltd
- Relapse and Functional Outcomes in Anti-LGI1 EncephalitisShen Chun-Hong
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- Epilepsy and SeizuresNational Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Diagnosis and Tests
- EEG (Electroencephalogram)Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
- Head CT (Computed Tomography, CAT Scan)Radiological Society of North America
Treatments and Therapies
- Convulsions - first aid - seriesMedical Encyclopedia
- First Aid for SeizuresCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
- Vagus Nerve StimulationMayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
Genetics
- 15q13.3 microdeletion: MedlinePlus GeneticsNational Library of Medicine
- Alpers-Huttenlocher syndrome: MedlinePlus GeneticsNational Library of Medicine
- Ataxia neuropathy spectrum: MedlinePlus GeneticsNational Library of Medicine
- Benign familial neonatal seizures: MedlinePlus GeneticsNational Library of Medicine
- Childhood absence epilepsy: MedlinePlus GeneticsNational Library of Medicine
- Epilepsy of infancy with migrating focal seizures: MedlinePlus GeneticsNational Library of Medicine
- Familial focal epilepsy with variable foci: MedlinePlus GeneticsNational Library of Medicine
- Genetic epilepsy with febrile seizures plus: MedlinePlus GeneticsNational Library of Medicine
- Juvenile myoclonic epilepsy: MedlinePlus GeneticsNational Library of Medicine
- Molybdenum cofactor deficiency: MedlinePlus GeneticsNational Library of Medicine
- Myoclonic epilepsy myopathy sensory ataxia: MedlinePlus GeneticsNational Library of Medicine
- Pyridoxine-dependent epilepsy: MedlinePlus GeneticsNational Library of Medicine
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: SeizuresNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Seizures. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Seizures, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.