Gelastic Seizure - Diagnosis

Diagnosis

A diagnosis is difficult, especially in children, due to the difficulty in differentiating between actual laughing or crying, versus a seizure that involves laughing and crying. In pre-verbal infants, a diagnosis may be impossible. A long history must be taken with a description of all the signs leading to and during the seizure. The episodes can also be confused with behavioral and emotional disorders. Some doctors ask parents to videotape the children's outbursts. The tapes may be difficult to obtain, but can be very helpful in speeding up the difficult diagnosis process. Diagnosis is also complicated due to the many possible causes of the seizures. Imaging is always helpful in an attempt to diagnose seizures caused by hypothalamic hamartoma. If there is evidence of this, the diagnosis takes much less time.