How is the “fencing position” of frontal lobe epilepsy diagnosed?

  Tonic abduction of the upper and lower extremities on the same side is more pronounced in the distal upper extremity than in the distal lower extremity. This ipsilateral extension of the upper extremity to the side of origin of the epilepsy has been described as a “fencing posture”. This is a symptom of the clinical presentation of frontal lobe epilepsy.  The diagnosis of frontal lobe epilepsy “fencing posture”: 1. The patient’s seizures start and stop suddenly and last for a short time, usually within 1 minute, with an average of 30 seconds. Most of the patients have seizures at night, and a few of them have seizures only at night. There are no or very mild symptoms after the seizure. Seizures tend to spread rapidly, and various forms of seizures can be rapidly followed by generalized seizures or continuous status epilepticus. Consciousness is usually preserved at the time of seizure.  2. From the medical history, frontal lobe epilepsy is rarely idiopathic or hereditary and is mostly symptomatic and addictive in origin. This does not mean that frontal lobe epilepsy is not hereditary either. As with other types of epilepsy, when diagnosing frontal lobe epilepsy, it is important to know whether there are seizures in both parents, close family members, and a detailed investigation of the patient’s family system.  3, generally from the patient’s medical history, EEG, seizure symptoms comprehensive diagnosis, diagnosis of frontal lobe epilepsy should also be combined with these aspects to consider. Patients with frontal lobe epilepsy have several seizures per day, more often up to dozens or even up to a hundred, usually in clusters, patients have very frequent seizures, sudden seizures, usually within a minute and of short duration.  4. From the EEG, most patients have no abnormalities in the EEG during the interictal period. Because of the low positive rate of scalp EEG in patients with frontal lobe epilepsy, it often leads to misdiagnosis due to inaccurate diagnosis.