In 2016, the estimated number of people globally with active epilepsy was 45.9 million. For the US in 2015, this figure was around 3.4 million. So epilepsy is common and generalised seizures are a common type of epilepsy.

And the consequences can be serious - from medication side effects to status to sudden unexpected death.

To find out more about this problem and what we can do about it, listen to this BMJ Best Practice podcast interview with Daniel Winkel, Assistant Professor of Neurology at Emory University School of Medicine.

For more on generalised seizures, visit BMJ Best Practice.

Competing interests: DW receives consulting fees from NextSense, Inc.