Epilepsy: mimics, borderland and chameleons

Epilepsy mimics such as syncope and psychogenic attacks, can present like epilepsy, and can be erroneously managed as epilepsy. There are also several conditions at the borderland that closely relate to epilepsy yet are probably separate from it, eg. migralepsy and parasomnia. Finally, there are times when epileptic seizures resemble one of the epilepsy mimics. This is epilepsy in disguise-the epilepsy chameleons. Seizures with typically unusual manifestations, such as occipital or parietal lobe seizures, or those occurring in situations where another cause seems more likely, eg, in a person with alcoholism, may well be overlooked as epilepsy and initially escape diagnosis. This review explores the mimics of adult epilepsy, the epilepsy borderland, and focuses particularly on epilepsy chameleons.