Myoclonic status epilepticus

What it means

A type of motor status epilepticus with repeating bilateral sudden brief (less than 100 ms) involuntary single or multiple contraction of muscles or muscle groups of variable topography.

The myoclonic seizures are usually generalized. The duration or frequency of myoclonic jerks required to qualify as myoclonic status is not defined, but they should occur frequently and long enough to significantly impair functioning. A reasonable general definition might be that myoclonus must occur either (1) at least once every 10 seconds for longer than 10 minutes or (2) at least once a minute for longer than 30 minutes.

Rare diseases that can present with this1

The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.

Part of the broader category