What does myoclonic epilepsy look like?

Myoclonic seizures are small jerking motions compared with the severe shaking or body-wide jerking of a tonic-clonic seizure. They may be rare, as with the slight jerking motions that sometimes happen when falling asleep at night. They also can be a symptom of a much more severe and lifelong condition.

What does epilepsy look like on EEG?

Your doctor may refer to these waves as “epileptiform abnormalities” or “epilepsy waves.” They can look like spikes, sharp waves, and spike-and-wave discharges.

How do you test for myoclonic seizures?

The most useful way to diagnose epilepsy is an electroencephalogram (EEG). This records electrical activity in the brain. The EEG can record unusual spikes or waves in electrical activity patterns. Different types of epilepsy can be identified with these patterns.

How is JME diagnosis?

Doctors diagnose JME with an electroencephalogram (EEG), a test that can find unusual patterns in brain waves. You’ll have the test while you’re asleep and awake.

Are myoclonic seizures focal or generalized?

Myoclonic seizures are brief but can happen in clusters (many happening close together in time), and often happen shortly after waking. In myoclonic seizures the person is conscious, but they are classified as generalised seizures.

Are myoclonic seizures focal?

Subsets of myoclonic seizures can be focal in origin despite bilaterally synchronized epileptiform discharges on scalp EEG.

What does a JME seizure look like?

Myoclonic jerks or seizures in JME typically happen within 1 to 2 hours of waking up in the morning or after a nap. They are described as shock-like and irregular movements of both arms. Sometimes the movements happen only in the fingers, making the person look clumsy or prone to dropping things.

What types of seizures occur with JME?

Most people who have JME will have 3 types of seizures. These are called myoclonic, tonic-clonic and absence seizures. All people with JME will have myoclonic seizures. That is why the epilepsy syndrome is called juvenile myoclonic epilepsy.

How is myoclonus diagnosed?

Electromyography (EMG), which measures electrical activity of muscle, is the commonly used method to diagnose myoclonus as well as nerve and muscle dysfunction. Electroencephalography (EEG) uses electrodes attached to the scalp to record the electrical activity of the brain that may trigger the myoclonic jerk.

What is the difference between myoclonus and seizure?

Myoclonic means ‘muscle jerk’. Muscle jerks are not always due to epilepsy (for example, some people have them as they fall asleep). Myoclonic seizures are brief but can happen in clusters (many happening close together in time), and often happen shortly after waking.