Absence Seizures
Absence
seizures, also known as petit mal
seizures, involve "blanking out." They are most common in children. A child may "stare into space" and may not respond to other people for 10 to 20 seconds. Once the seizure is over, the child will not be aware of these episodes and will continue as if nothing happened.
Complex absence seizures involve muscle movement (often eye blinking), while simple absence seizures do not involve muscle movements.
Zarontin is approved to treat both complex and simple absence seizures.
During a seizure, brain cells (neurons) may fire as many as 500 times per second, much faster than the normal rate of about 80 times per second. It is not known exactly how Zarontin works to prevent absence seizures in people with
epilepsy. It may work by affecting certain
calcium channels in the brain.
Zarontin Uses in Children
Zarontin is approved to treat absence seizures in children as young as three years old. It is not approved for younger children. Talk to your healthcare provider about the benefits and risks of using Zarontin in children.
On occasion, your healthcare provider may recommend Zarontin for something other than absence seizures in people with epilepsy. At this time, there are no universally accepted
off-label Zarontin uses.
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