Brief focal seizures vs petit mal epilepsy. An important distinction

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Abstract
In an instructive and timely article appearing recently in this Journal, Livingston et al gave a lucid presentation of the modern concept of petit mal epilepsy, sharply delimiting this disorder to the brief warningless seizures which occur almost solely in childhood and which are associated with a rhythmic 3 to 3 1/2-cycle per second (cps) spikewave pattern on the electroencephalogram. As he pointed out, true petit mal, thus defined, comprises only 2.3% of all epilepsies in the general population and from 6% to 12% of childhood convulsive disorders. In the present communication, an attempt is made to give an equally unambiguous picture of brief epileptic seizures which do not conform to this current concept of petit mal, but which are commonly diagnosed as such, often to the serious detriment of the patient concerned. These brief seizures, in contrast to "true" petit mal, are widely distributed among all age groups and

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