Status epilepticus (prolonged or repetitive seizures without a period of recovery between them) is a life-threatening medical emergency for which appropriate diagnosis and treatment are imperative. It is usually classified with a practical aim as convulsive and non-convulsive, generalized and partial. In convulsive status there is a critical period of 30 min before irreversible metabolic alterations appear. The factors that influence the beginning and endpoint of a status epilepticus are unknown but a role has been proposed for both glutamate mediates excitation and lack of GABA mediated inhibition.