Recent Advances in Neonatal Seizures

Purpose of review: This article strives to review and summarize selected recent literature and topics contributing to a greater understanding of the diagnosis and treatments of neonatal seizures that have emerged in the past several years.

Recent findings: Continuous EEG is recommended as the gold standard for neonatal seizure monitoring as it can provide additional information that may stratify patients by etiology, as well as identify at-risk groups of newborns for neuromonitoring. Investigations are moving beyond traditional antiepileptic agents in search of treatments with better efficacy and with less concern for developmental effects. Targeted therapies for seizures resulting from particular genetic conditions are increasing, highlighting the importance of early genetic diagnosis. Better understanding of the risk of post-neonatal epilepsy based on etiology is emerging with new epidemiological studies. Evidence is growing for deleterious effects of seizures on outcomes, elevating the importance of seizure detection and effective treatment. Advances in utilization of continuous EEG monitoring have improved the accuracy of seizure detection and have identified at-risk groups of newborns for neuromonitoring. Ultimately, the goal in management of neonatal seizures is not only clinical stabilization in the acute period but also to influence neurodevelopmental outcome and modify the risk of future epilepsy.