Epilepsy is a long-lasting or permanent disorder that leads to recurrent and involuntary movements that are called seizures or convulsions. There are two forms of seizures often experienced by someone with epilepsy: generalized seizures that impact the whole brain, and partial or focal seizures that affect a specific part of the brain. Some seizures are difficult to recognize, whereas stronger seizures cause uncontrollable muscle movements and spasms. Here, we'll try to understand what is epilepsy.
Epilepsy Causes:
About 6 out of 10 people with epilepsy can't find the cause for their problem, but a variety of things can lead to seizures, including traumatic injury to the brain, serious fever or illness, stroke, vascular diseases, and a lack of oxygen to the brain. Seizures can also be caused by infectious disease, dementia, and brain tumors.
Genetics plays a role in certain forms of epilepsy. Within the general population, there's around a 1% chance of developing epilepsy before a person turns 20. However, if that person has a parent with epilepsy that is linked to genetics, that risk increases to around 2 or 5 percent.
Epilepsy Signs and Symptoms:
Seizures are the primary symptom of epilepsy. Symptoms of seizures can vary from one person to the next, depending on the type. For instance, focal or partial seizures won't include loss of consciousness, but they might lead to dizziness, problems with taste, sight, smell, touch, or hearing, and the tingling of limbs. Complex partial seizures will involve a loss of consciousness and may include other symptoms like unresponsiveness, blank staring, and repetitive motions.
Generalized seizures are those that have an impact on the entire brain. There are 6 forms of generalized seizures, including:
– Absence seizures, which were previously known as petit mal seizures, and cause a blank stare or repetitive movements like blinking.
– Tonic seizures, which lead to the inability to move muscles
– Atonic seizures, which lead to the lack of control over muscles
– Clonic seizures, which include repeated and jerky movements in muscles
– Myoclonic seizures which involve the quick twitching of legs and arms
– Tonic-clonic seizures, which were previously called grand mal seizures, and could be one of the most scary seizures to witness
Epilepsy Treatment Options:
Often, it's possible to manage epilepsy, though the treatment plan will depend on the severity of the symptoms, the patient’s health, and response to therapy. Certain treatment options might include anti-convulsant drugs, these are medications that reduce the number of seizures experienced, but they must be taken according to strict instructions.
Vagus nerve stimulators can be placed under the skin in the chest and these target the nerve running through the neck to help prevent seizures. Additionally, a ketogenic diet can be used to help manage seizures and the symptoms of epilepsy. There's also the option to remove that part of the brain that's responsible for seizure activity. Research into various new treatments is ongoing, and some people suggest that deep brain stimulation may be a solution. For instance, this would include implanting electrodes deep into the brain, alongside a generator in the chest that sends impulses designed to reduce seizures.
Other options such as minimally invasive forms of surgery and types of radiosurgery are also being considered from a scientific perspective.