Comment on Epileptic Seizures and Epilepsy: Definitions Proposed by the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) and the International Bureau for Epilepsy (IBE)

To the Editor: Fisher et al. (1) state, “Little common agreement exists on the definition of the terms seizure and epilepsy,” and they propose ILAE-endorsed definitions for these terms. Although their proposed definition of “seizure” is consistent with that which has been in use throughout the field for decades, their proposed definition of epilepsy is not. Fisher and colleagues (1) propose the following definition of epilepsy: “Epilepsy is a disorder of the brain characterized by an enduring predisposition to generate epileptic seizures and by the neurobiologic, cognitive, psychological, and social consequences of this condition.” The definition of epilepsy in Fisher's Table 1 (1) requires the occurrence of…