Reflex epilepsy: triggers and management strategies

Reflex epilepsies (REs) are identified as epileptic seizures that are consistently induced by identifiable and objective-specific triggers, which may be an afferent stimulus or by the patient’s own activity. RE may have different subtypes depending on the stimulus characteristic. There are significant clinical and electrophysiologic differences between different RE types. Visual stimuli-sensitive or photosensitive epilepsies constitute a large proportion of the RE and are mainly related to genetic causes. Reflex epilepsies may present with focal or generalized seizures due to specific triggers, and sometimes seizures may occur spontaneously. The stimuli can be external (light flashes, hot water), internal (emotion, thinking), or both and should be distinguished from triggering precipitants, which most epileptic patients could report such as emotional stress, sleep deprivation, alcohol, and menstrual cycle. Different genetic and acquired factors may play a role in etiology of RE. This review will provide a current overview of the triggering factors and management of reflex seizures.