Epilepsy, Tonic-Clonic

"Epilepsy, Tonic-Clonic" is a descriptor in the National Library of Medicine's controlled vocabulary thesaurus, MeSH (Medical Subject Headings). Descriptors are arranged in a hierarchical structure, which enables searching at various levels of specificity.

MeSH information

Definition | Details | More General Concepts | Related Concepts | More Specific Concepts

A generalized seizure disorder characterized by recurrent major motor seizures. The initial brief tonic phase is marked by trunk flexion followed by diffuse extension of the trunk and extremities. The clonic phase features rhythmic flexor contractions of the trunk and limbs, pupillary dilation, elevations of blood pressure and pulse, urinary incontinence, and tongue biting. This is followed by a profound state of depressed consciousness (post-ictal state) which gradually improves over minutes to hours. The disorder may be cryptogenic, familial, or symptomatic (caused by an identified disease process). (From Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, p329)

Descriptor ID	D004830
MeSH Number(s)	C10.228.140.490.375.290
Concept/Terms	Epilepsy, Tonic-Clonic Epilepsy, Tonic-Clonic Epilepsies, Tonic-Clonic Epilepsy, Tonic Clonic Tonic-Clonic Epilepsies Tonic-Clonic Epilepsy Epilepsy, Grand Mal Grand Mal Epilepsy Epilepsy, Major Major Epilepsies Major Epilepsy Grand Mal Seizure Disorder Major Motor Seizure Disorder Tonic-Clonic Seizure Syndrome Seizure Syndrome, Tonic-Clonic Seizure Syndromes, Tonic-Clonic Syndrome, Tonic-Clonic Seizure Syndromes, Tonic-Clonic Seizure Tonic Clonic Seizure Syndrome Tonic-Clonic Seizure Syndromes Seizure Disorder, Major Motor Seizure Disorder, Tonic Clonic Tonic Clonic Convulsions Convulsion, Tonic Clonic Convulsions, Tonic Clonic Tonic Clonic Convulsion Tonic-Clonic Convulsion Disorder Convulsion Disorder, Tonic-Clonic Convulsion Disorders, Tonic-Clonic Disorder, Tonic-Clonic Convulsion Disorders, Tonic-Clonic Convulsion Tonic Clonic Convulsion Disorder Tonic-Clonic Convulsion Disorders Tonic-Clonic Convulsion Syndrome Convulsion Syndrome, Tonic-Clonic Convulsion Syndromes, Tonic-Clonic Syndrome, Tonic-Clonic Convulsion Syndromes, Tonic-Clonic Convulsion Tonic Clonic Convulsion Syndrome Tonic-Clonic Convulsion Syndromes Tonic-Clonic Seizure Disorder Disorder, Tonic-Clonic Seizure Disorders, Tonic-Clonic Seizure Seizure Disorder, Tonic-Clonic Seizure Disorders, Tonic-Clonic Tonic Clonic Seizure Disorder Tonic-Clonic Seizure Disorders Convulsions, Grand Mal Convulsion, Grand Mal Grand Mal Convulsion Grand Mal Convulsions Seizure Disorder, Grand Mal Epilepsy, Tonic-Clonic, Symptomatic Epilepsy, Tonic-Clonic, Symptomatic Symptomatic Tonic-Clonic Epilepsy Epilepsies, Symptomatic Tonic-Clonic Epilepsy, Symptomatic Tonic-Clonic Symptomatic Tonic Clonic Epilepsy Symptomatic Tonic-Clonic Epilepsies Tonic-Clonic Epilepsies, Symptomatic Tonic-Clonic Epilepsy, Symptomatic Cryptogenic Tonic-Clonic Epilepsy Cryptogenic Tonic-Clonic Epilepsy Cryptogenic Tonic Clonic Epilepsy Cryptogenic Tonic-Clonic Epilepsies Epilepsies, Cryptogenic Tonic-Clonic Epilepsy, Cryptogenic Tonic-Clonic Tonic-Clonic Epilepsies, Cryptogenic Tonic-Clonic Epilepsy, Cryptogenic Epilepsy, Tonic-Clonic, Cryptogenic Epilepsy, Tonic-Clonic, Familial Epilepsy, Tonic-Clonic, Familial Familial Tonic-Clonic Epilepsy Epilepsies, Familial Tonic-Clonic Epilepsy, Familial Tonic-Clonic Familial Tonic Clonic Epilepsy Familial Tonic-Clonic Epilepsies Tonic-Clonic Epilepsies, Familial Tonic-Clonic Epilepsy, Familial

Below are MeSH descriptors whose meaning is more general than "Epilepsy, Tonic-Clonic".

Diseases [C]
Nervous System Diseases [C10]
Central Nervous System Diseases [C10.228]
Brain Diseases [C10.228.140]
Epilepsy [C10.228.140.490]
Epilepsy, Generalized [C10.228.140.490.375]
Epilepsy, Tonic-Clonic [C10.228.140.490.375.290]

Below are MeSH descriptors whose meaning is related to "Epilepsy, Tonic-Clonic".

Below are MeSH descriptors whose meaning is more specific than "Epilepsy, Tonic-Clonic".

publications

Timeline | Most Recent

This graph shows the total number of publications written about "Epilepsy, Tonic-Clonic" by people in this website by year, and whether "Epilepsy, Tonic-Clonic" was a major or minor topic of these publications.

Bar chart showing 31 publications over 19 distinct years, with a maximum of 4 publications in 2006

To see the data from this visualization as text, click here.

Year	Major Topic	Minor Topic	Total
2001	0	1	1
2002	0	1	1
2003	0	1	1
2005	0	1	1
2006	0	4	4
2007	1	2	3
2008	0	1	1
2009	0	1	1
2010	1	0	1
2011	0	3	3
2012	1	0	1
2014	1	0	1
2015	1	0	1
2016	2	0	2
2017	2	1	3
2019	0	1	1
2020	0	1	1
2021	1	2	3
2025	1	0	1

Below are the most recent publications written about "Epilepsy, Tonic-Clonic" by people in Profiles.

Alcala-Zermeno JL, Romozzi M, Sperling MR. The effect of epilepsy surgery on tonic-clonic seizures. Epilepsia. 2025 Apr; 66(4):1048-1058.

View in: PubMed
Tarighati Rasekhi R, Devlin KN, Mass JA, Donmez M, Asma B, Sperling MR, Nei M. Improving prediction of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy: From SUDEP-7 to SUDEP-3. Epilepsia. 2021 07; 62(7):1536-1545.

View in: PubMed
Salanova V, Sperling MR, Gross RE, Irwin CP, Vollhaber JA, Giftakis JE, Fisher RS. The SANT? study at 10 years of follow-up: Effectiveness, safety, and sudden unexpected death in epilepsy. Epilepsia. 2021 06; 62(6):1306-1317.

View in: PubMed
Asadi-Pooya AA, Tomson T. A reappraisal of injuries and accidents in people with epilepsy. Curr Opin Neurol. 2021 04 01; 34(2):182-187.

View in: PubMed
Caciagli L, Allen LA, He X, Trimmel K, Vos SB, Centeno M, Galovic M, Sidhu MK, Thompson PJ, Bassett DS, Winston GP, Duncan JS, Koepp MJ, Sperling MR. Thalamus and focal to bilateral seizures: A multiscale cognitive imaging study. Neurology. 2020 10 27; 95(17):e2427-e2441.

View in: PubMed
Wu C, Jermakowicz WJ, Chakravorti S, Cajigas I, Sharan AD, Jagid JR, Matias CM, Sperling MR, Buckley R, Ko A, Ojemann JG, Miller JW, Youngerman B, Sheth SA, McKhann GM, Laxton AW, Couture DE, Popli GS, Smith A, Mehta AD, Ho AL, Halpern CH, Englot DJ, Neimat JS, Konrad PE, Neal E, Vale FL, Holloway KL, Air EL, Schwalb J, Dawant BM, D'Haese PF. Effects of surgical targeting in laser interstitial thermal therapy for mesial temporal lobe epilepsy: A multicenter study of 234 patients. Epilepsia. 2019 06; 60(6):1171-1183.

View in: PubMed
Halford JJ, Sperling MR, Nair DR, Dlugos DJ, Tatum WO, Harvey J, French JA, Pollard JR, Faught E, Noe KH, Henry TR, Jetter GM, Lie OV, Morgan LC, Girouard MR, Cardenas DP, Whitmire LE, Cavazos JE. Detection of generalized tonic-clonic seizures using surface electromyographic monitoring. Epilepsia. 2017 11; 58(11):1861-1869.

View in: PubMed
Mintzer S. Letter re: Hand postures in primary and secondary generalized tonic-clonic seizures. Neurology. 2017 07 11; 89(2):214.

View in: PubMed
Jobst BC, Kapur R, Barkley GL, Bazil CW, Berg MJ, Bergey GK, Boggs JG, Cash SS, Cole AJ, Duchowny MS, Duckrow RB, Edwards JC, Eisenschenk S, Fessler AJ, Fountain NB, Geller EB, Goldman AM, Goodman RR, Gross RE, Gwinn RP, Heck C, Herekar AA, Hirsch LJ, King-Stephens D, Labar DR, Marsh WR, Meador KJ, Miller I, Mizrahi EM, Murro AM, Nair DR, Noe KH, Olejniczak PW, Park YD, Rutecki P, Salanova V, Sheth RD, Skidmore C, Smith MC, Spencer DC, Srinivasan S, Tatum W, Van Ness P, Vossler DG, Wharen RE, Worrell GA, Yoshor D, Zimmerman RS, Skarpaas TL, Morrell MJ. Brain-responsive neurostimulation in patients with medically intractable seizures arising from eloquent and other neocortical areas. Epilepsia. 2017 06; 58(6):1005-1014.

View in: PubMed
Moseley BD, Sperling MR, Asadi-Pooya AA, Diaz A, Elmouft S, Schiemann J, Whitesides J. Efficacy, safety, and tolerability of adjunctive brivaracetam for secondarily generalized tonic-clonic seizures: Pooled results from three Phase III studies. Epilepsy Res. 2016 Nov; 127:179-185.

View in: PubMed

People

Explore

Similar Concepts

Top Journals

The Thomas Jefferson University web site, its contents and programs, is provided for informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice nor is it intended to create any physician-patient relationship. Please remember that this information should not substitute for a visit or a consultation with a health care provider. The views or opinions expressed in the resources provided do not necessarily reflect those of Thomas Jefferson University, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, or the Jefferson Health System or staff.
Please read our Privacy Statement