The time course of acquired epilepsy: Implications for therapeutic intervention to suppress epileptogenesis

► The classical view of the development of epileptogenesis is a step-function of time after the brain injury. Based on nearly-continuous electrographic (EEG) recordings, seizure frequency was a sigmoid function of time after the insult in two different animal models of acquired epilepsy. ► Spontaneous recurrent seizures often occurred in clusters, even shortly after the first spontaneous seizure. ► The data suggest that (1) epileptogenesis is a continuous process, (2) seizure clusters can obscure this continuous process, and (3) the potential time for administration of a therapy to suppress acquired epilepsy extends well past the first clinical seizure.