Posttraumatic seizures in survivors of torture: manifestations, diagnosis, and treatment
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 15, 2026

Inducing Post-Traumatic Epilepsy in a Mouse Model of Repetitive Diffuse Traumatic Brain Injury
Published on: February 10, 2020
Alejandro Moreno1, Michael Peel
1The Austin Medical Education Programs at Brackenridge Hospital, Austin, Texas 78759, USA. almoreno@massmed.org
Abstract:
Survivors of torture are very likely to have been beaten repeatedly around the head. Apparent brief losses of consciousness are not uncommon following torture, and they may be associated with signs that suggest temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). The relative risk of developing posttraumatic seizures (PTS) is increased by about 50% after a single head injury involving a brief loss of consciousness. It is 2.9 if that loss of consciousness lasts for more than about 30 min. Thus, patients who have been tortured are at increased risk of seizures. TLE is difficult to diagnose and needs specialist investigations, and other conditions that are not uncommon in survivors of torture, such as panic attacks, posttraumatic stress disorder, dissociation, and syncope can all present with similar pictures. This paper addresses the differential diagnosis of posttraumatic epilepsy in survivors of torture.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Traumatic Brain Injury l: Introduction
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
Symptoms and Behavioral Manifestations
A spectrum of distressing symptoms characterizes PTSD. Recurrent flashbacks, where individuals involuntarily relive traumatic events, are a...
Seizures l: Introduction
Electroconvulsive Therapy
Epilepsy and Seizures: Overview
Various factors can trigger epilepsy, including genetic factors, brain damage, metabolic causes, and unknown etiology. Diagnosis of epilepsy involves electroencephalography (EEG), which...
Traumatic Memory

