Todd's paresis

Todd's paresis
Other namesTodd's paralysis, or Todd's palsy
SpecialtyNeurology Edit this on Wikidata

Todd's paresis (or postictal paresis/paralysis, "after seizure") is focal weakness in a part or all of the body after a seizure. This weakness typically affects the limbs and is localized to either the left or right side of the body. It usually subsides completely within 48 hours. Todd's paresis may also affect speech, eye position (gaze), or vision.

The condition is named after Robert Bentley Todd (1809–1860), an Irish-born London physiologist who first described the phenomenon in 1849.[1][2] It may occur in up to 13% of seizure cases.[3] It is most common after a focal motor seizure affecting one limb or one side of the body.[4] The generally postulated cause is the exhaustion of the primary motor cortex, although no conclusive evidence is available to support this.

  1. ^ Todd RB (1849). "On the pathology and treatment of convulsive diseases". London Med Gaz. 8: 668.
  2. ^ Pearce JM (March 1994). "Robert Bentley Todd (1809-60) and Todd's paralysis". J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry. 57 (3): 315. doi:10.1136/jnnp.57.3.315. PMC 1072820. PMID 8158178.
  3. ^ Gallmetzer P, Leutmezer F, Serles W, Assem-Hilger E, Spatt J, Baumgartner C (June 2004). "Postictal paresis in focal epilepsies--incidence, duration, and causes: a video-EEG monitoring study". Neurology. 62 (12): 2160–4. doi:10.1212/wnl.62.12.2160. PMID 15210875. S2CID 352842.
  4. ^ Uptodate: Evaluation of the first seizure in adults