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EPILEPSY

Men's Health, Women's Health / By

EPILEPSY

Epilepsy is a chronic central nervous system disorder in which the clusters of neurons in the brain behaves irregular or disrupted causing periods of a strange sensation, seizures, abnormal behavior and sometimes loss of consciousness or awareness.

  • The central nervous system is the part of the nervous system that comprises the brain, brainstem and the spinal cord.
  • Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that is characterized by recurring seizures
  • A quick rush of electrical activity in the brain is called a seizure
  • People with epilepsy also suffer from some major psychological disorder such as depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts
  • An uncontrolled and extended seizure can lead to brain damage
  • Symptoms experienced during epilepsy depends on the part of the brain affected.
  • Epilepsy affects both male and female of all ages. However, it is more common in young children under 2 years of age and older adults.
  • People with epilepsy are 11 times more likely to have premature death than the rest of the population. Overall, about 1% of epileptic patient die of sudden unexpected death.
  • Epilepsy affects around 70million people worldwide.

CAUSES

  • Head Trauma resulting from an accident or other traumatic damage can cause epilepsy
  • infectious diseases such as AIDS, meningitis can cause epilepsy
  • The leading cause of epilepsy in people older than 35 years is a stroke
  • Serious illness or very high fever
  • Lack of oxygen to the brain
  • Some inherited genetic factor can make some people prone to epilepsy
  • A brain injury that occurs before birth. This could be as a result of infection in the mother, poor nutrition or a deficiency in oxygen.
  • Some developmental disorder such as autism or neurofibromatosis can also be a major cause of epilepsy.
  • Scarring on the brain after a brain injury
  • Dementia or Alzheimer’s disease

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

The most common symptom of epilepsy is a seizure and differ from person to person according to the type of seizure.Doctors classify seizure as either focal (partial) and generalized

FOCAL (PARTIAL) SEIZURE

Focal seizures result from abnormal activity in one part of the brain.A focal seizure may be simple or complex. A simple focal seizure is not characterized by loss of consciousness or awareness and the symptoms include:

  • dizziness, change in sense of taste, smell, sound, tingling, and twitching of limb, jerking of a body part such as the arm or leg
    A complex focal seizure is characterized by loss of consciousness or awareness and the symptoms may include:
  • Unresponsiveness to the environment, staring blankly into space, performing repetitive movements such as hand rubbing, walking in circles, chewing.
    GENERALIZED SEIZURE

    The generalized seizure involves the whole brain. There are 6 types of generalized symptoms and they include:

  • Tonic Seizures that causes muscle stiffness. It affects the muscles in the back, neck, and arm and may lead to a fall.
  • Atonic Seizures that causes a loss of muscle control and may result in a sudden collapse.
  • Absence seizures that often occur in children and characterized by subtle body movement such as blinking and staring into space.
  • Clonic seizures that are associated with rhythmic or repeated jerky muscle movement of the face, neck, and
  • Myoclonic seizures that cause twitches of the arm and leg
  • Tonic-clonic seizures are the most dramatic epileptic symptom and may cause stiffening of the body, shaking, loss of consciousness, loss of bladder control and biting of the tongue

DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT

DIAGNOSIS

In diagnosing epilepsy, the following procedure may be carried out:

  • A blood test to check the level of glucose, liver and kidney functions and signs of infectious diseases
  • Brain scans which may help to find the cause of your seizures. The two common ones are Computerized Axial Tomography (CT scan) and the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). The scan shows pictures of the brain. A CT scan uses x-ray to acquire the cross-sectional images of the brain and can reveal abnormalities in the brain that might be causing the seizures. The MRI uses powerful radio and magnets wave to create a thorough view of the brain. Abnormalities that causes the seizure can then be detected.
  • Position Emission Therapy that visualizes the active area of the brain and can detect abnormalities. In this procedure, a  small amount of low-dose radioactive substance is injected into the vein.
  • Electroencephalogram (EEG): This is the most common procedure used in diagnosing epilepsy. In this kind of procedure, a paste-like substance is used in attaching electrodes to your scalp. The electrodes measure the electrical activity of your brain. Changes in the normal pattern of brain waves are common in people with epilepsy even when not under the influence of seizure.
  • In cases where MRI and EEG do not pinpoint the location in the brain where the seizure is occurring, a SPECT (Single-photon emission computerized tomography) test may be recommended. This procedure shows the 3D map of blood flow activity in the brain during a seizure.
TREATMENT

In treating epilepsy, medication is the first approach, in case if medications don’t treat the condition, surgery or another type of treatment may be proposed.

  • The first line of medication is the antiseizure medication that helps reduce the severity and frequency of seizure.
  • Depending on the type of seizure you are experiencing, your doctor may prescribe a single drug or combinations of
  • Some epilepsy drugs include lamotrigine, topiramate, ethosuximide.
  • Side effects of the antiseizure drug include fatigue, memory problem, skin rash.
  • When medications fail to provide control over seizures, surgery may be an option
  • Resection is the most common surgical procedure carried out
  • This involves removing the part of the brain that’s causing the seizure
  • The surgery can only be performed when the test shows that the seizure originates from a small, well-defined area of your brain and vital functions such as speech, motor function, vision and hearing won’t be affected by such surgical procedure.
  • The dietary recommendation is best for children suffering from epilepsy. The ketogenic diet is mostly implemented. This involves following a strict diet that is high in fats and low in carbohydrates and is said to be able to reduce seizure in children. In following this diet, a dietician should be worked with.