Earlier Classifications
The 1981 classification was a revision of the one devised by Henri Gastaut for the ILAE and published in 1970. A significant difference was the distinction between simple and complex partial seizures. In the 1970 classification, the distinction was whether the symptoms involved elementary sensory or motor functions (simple) or whether "higher functions" were involved (complex). This was changed to consider whether consciousness was fully retained or not. As a result, studies that group patients according to these classifications are not directly comparable from one generation to another. The 1970 classification was important for standardising the modern terms for many seizure types. Prior to this, terms such as petit mal, grand mal, Jacksonian, psychomotor and temporal-lobe seizures were used.
The earliest classification of seizures can be attributed to Babylonian scholars who inscribed their medical knowledge into stone tablets known as the Sakikku (meaning All Diseases). This dates from the reign of the Babylonian king Adad-apla-iddina of the Second Dynasty of Isin - estimated to be between 1067 and 1046 BC. Many types of seizures are described, each attributed to a certain demon or departed spirit and given a prognosis.
Read more about this topic: Seizure Types
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