What Is Epilepsy?

As with many medical conditions, the answer to “what is epilepsy?” is complicated. Epilepsy is a neurological disorder characterized by recurrent unprovoked seizures. It affects about 1% of the world’s population and can affect anyone at any time. While epilepsy can begin at any time in a person’s life, it tends to start most often in people younger than 20 and older than 60. The seizures that characterize epilepsy can vary from brief and nearly undetectable to long periods of vigorous shaking. In between, a person may be confused or have a staring spell. Medical professionals use the term “seizure” when referring to the symptoms a person experiences during an episode while they call the episodes themselves “epileptic seizures.” Diagnosis involves having two or more epileptic seizures that are not caused by other factors or illnesses and are not triggered by specific circumstances such as alcohol withdrawal or extremely low blood sugar. If you or someone you know has experienced two or more unexplained seizures, it’s wise to consult a doctor right away.

What Is a Seizure?

A seizure is a burst of electrical activity in the brain that can affect the way you feel and act. Seizures can take many forms, and people often have different symptoms during their seizures. Some people may not realize they’ve had a seizure. Some seizures are caused by epilepsy, but there are also other types of seizures that aren’t caused by epilepsy. A person with epilepsy has a greater risk of having more seizures in the future than someone who has had only one seizure. Seizures happen when a brief surge of electrical activity in your brain makes you suddenly change the way you feel or act, even if only for a short time. These changes are called “symptoms” because they’re things you have or do during a seizure, although some people may prefer to call them “signs” instead. For example: -Your muscles may become stiff, jerky or floppy -You may lose consciousness and fall down -You may start chewing, swallowing or smacking your lips -You might lose control of your bladder or bowels -You might find it hard to speak for a short time -Your eyes might look up to one side or roll up into your head -The symptoms of your seizure can depend on which part

What Are the Different Types of Seizures?

There are two main categories of seizures: generalized and partial. Within those two main groups, there are several different types of seizures that fall under each category. Generalized seizure types include: Absence (petit mal) seizures: These cause blank stares and changes in consciousness that can last a few seconds or minutes. These are most common in children. Tonic-clonic seizures: These were once known as grand mal seizures and often involve convulsions, falls and loss of consciousness. Clonic seizures: These cause repeated, rhythmic muscle contractions on both sides of the body. Tonic seizures: These cause stiffening and contraction of the muscles in certain areas of the body, typically the neck, back and arms. They may be isolated or occur in clusters. Atonic seizures: Also known as drop attacks, these cause sudden loss of muscle control, which can result in head injuries from falls.

What Are the Symptoms of a Seizure?

Seizures can cause many symptoms. They may last from a few seconds to a few minutes. Afterward, you may feel confused and have no memory of what happened during the seizure. The type of seizure you have determines your symptoms. In general, though, most people with seizures experience:

• Blacking out
• Strange sensations such as tingling or a rising or falling feeling
• Seeing flashing lights
• Loss of muscle control on one side or both sides of your body (such as twitching)
• Becoming stiff

What Causes a Seizure?

Many people have seizures from time to time, but most of the time the cause is unknown. Many things can cause a seizure, including: – Illness – Head injury – Drug or alcohol abuse – A high fever – Low blood sugar levels Some people have seizures because they have another condition that causes seizures. These conditions include: – Epilepsy – also called a seizure disorder – Brain tumor or cyst – Encephalitis – swelling of the brain caused by a virus or bacteria – Meningitis – inflammation of the lining around the brain and spinal cord caused by a virus or bacteria

How Are Seizures Diagnosed?

Seizures are diagnosed by your doctor based on the results of a physical exam, medical history and tests. During a physical exam, your doctor will look for signs of neurological problems. Your doctor will also ask you questions about your seizure and how often you have them. Tests used to diagnose seizures may include: Electroencephalogram (EEG). An EEG is a noninvasive test that measures the electrical activity in the brain. If you’re having a seizure when an EEG is performed, it usually shows abnormal or irregular patterns of brain waves during the time of the seizure. This can help identify the type of seizure that’s occurring. You may need to stay at the hospital for 24 hours or longer to have an EEG done. This allows your healthcare provider to measure brain wave activity during both seizures and times when no seizures occur. Blood tests. Blood tests might be needed to check for low blood sugar, infection and other possible causes of seizures. Imaging scans. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan produces detailed images of your brain that can help reveal abnormalities that can cause seizures, such as tumors or cysts, scar tissue from head trauma or injury, infections or stroke.

How Are Seizures Treated?

Doctors can treat seizures in a few different ways. The treatment that your doctor recommends will depend on several factors, including the type of seizure you have, how often you have them, and what your risk factors are. The three main treatments are lifestyle changes, medication, and surgery. Lifestyle Changes for Seizures It’s important to discuss with your doctor any changes you want to make in your life to help manage your seizures. Make sure to:

• Get enough sleep each night
• Eat healthy foods
• Exercise regularly
• Avoid alcohol or illicit drugs
• Have regular medical checkups

Is a Ketogenic Diet are considered treatment for Seizures?

For ensuring the proper function of the brain, glucose is an essential nutrient. It is primarily needed for brain cells to produce energy. When there is not enough glucose available (due to a lack of carbohydrates in the diet), then the body will produce ketones as an alternative energy source for brain cells. Ketogenic diets are considered treatment for seizures when medications are not working or cannot be tolerated by the patient. In fact, a ketogenic diet has been used in treating epilepsy since the 1920s. Despite its age, this approach remains one of the most effective treatments for childhood epilepsy today.

What Does the Diet Consist of?

The diet consists of high-fiber foods that are rich in water but low in calories and fat. Because many people are unfamiliar with these foods, the diet may seem difficult to follow. However, you can get used to eating high-fiber foods if you add them to your diet gradually. The diet is not meant for long-term use, but as a way to help you lose weight so that you can have surgery on your gallbladder. It’s also meant to control symptoms if your gallbladder is not working well or has been removed.

Additional Treatment Options for Seizures

Additional Medications In addition to the medications prescribed for you by your doctor, there are other medications that can help control seizures. The over-the-counter medication melatonin has been shown to be effective in helping prevent seizures and also helps with sleep, which is important because proper sleep can help prevent or lessen the severity of seizures. Calcium channel blockers, like verapamil and nifedipine, have also been shown to be effective in reducing the severity and frequency of seizures in those who do not respond well to other treatment options. These medications should only be used under the supervision of a physician.

Are there more Information Regarding a Child with Seizures or Epilepsy

More questions are found when a parent is faced with a child who has seizures or epilepsy. If you have any of the following concerns, please contact your doctor.

• You see your child having unusual movements or jerks.
• Your child is hard to wake up after an episode or he/she seems different for some time afterwards.
• You are concerned about the number of seizures your child has had in the last day or two.
• Your child has trouble breathing, turns blue, vomits, or becomes incontinent during a seizure.
• Your child feels ill before a seizure and/or you hear him/her cry out before it starts.
• You want to know more about epilepsy and its treatment.

Epilepsy Clinical Trials

Epilepsy clinical trials are research studies that determine whether a new investigative treatment is safe and effective for people with epilepsy. These studies are an important part of the development of new medications, devices, procedures and approaches to epilepsy. If you have epilepsy, it’s important to be aware of ongoing clinical trials so you can decide if participating in one could be beneficial for you. Every year, approximately 40 percent of new drugs fail during clinical trials because they fall short of meeting the study objectives or produce adverse side effects. One reason that some studies fail is because they don’t have enough participants. Without enough volunteers, there isn’t a large enough data sample to analyze and draw proper conclusions from the findings. Another reason some studies fail is because no one is interested in enrolling in them.

Why should I consider participating in an epilepsy clinical trial?

It’s your decision whether or not to participate in a clinical trial. You can ask questions about the study and about the experimental treatment before you make up your mind about participating. If you are eligible for the study and still have questions, talk with your doctor and other health professionals involved in your care before deciding if this is something you want to do.