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Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that causes random and recurrent seizures of varying intensity. It can be caused by genetics, head injury, or substance abuse. Most people can control their symptoms with medication and lead normal lives.
Epilepsy is a neurological disorder characterized by random and recurrent seizures of varying intensity. A seizure is a medical episode that occurs when there is a temporary problem with the brain’s electrical messaging or signaling. The most common symptoms are loss of consciousness and intense tremors or spasms, but mild seizures can cause even a moment of blank stare or temporary changes in behavior. People with epilepsy usually experience these kinds of events with some regularity. Some people are born with the condition, but it’s also possible that it develops in response to some change in brain chemistry, often from an accident, trauma, or substance abuse. Patients can usually keep their condition under control with medication, and most can lead very normal lives.
Basic characteristics of the disease
It is estimated that just under a quarter of the population suffers from some sort of seizure disorder, although epilepsy is usually defined as a sustained pattern of seizure activity. People are typically only diagnosed if they experience two or more unrelated seizures within a single year. In some people, the condition is really obvious; when they experience a seizure, they lose consciousness, fall to the ground, and begin convulsing. This can be very alarming and scary for viewers.
Symptoms aren’t always that dramatic, though. Seizures can also be marked by moments of apparent mindlessness, where a person “shuts down” or behaves very strangely or unusual. This type of attack can be difficult to identify, but is usually immediately apparent when seen on a brain scan. People who have been diagnosed with epilepsy often have very individualized symptoms, but in most cases all the seizures they have experienced have similar characteristics. Some people experience seizures in response to known triggers, particularly strobe or flashing lights, but there isn’t always a direct cause. It is often the case that seizures come on randomly and unexpectedly. Similarly, patients often hear certain things or have certain sensations that signal that an episode is imminent.
Understanding seizures
A person’s “seizure threshold” plays a key role in the disease. Each person has an individual level of resistance, or tolerance, to seizures. This threshold is part of everyone’s genetics. People with lower seizure thresholds are more likely to have seizures than those with high thresholds.
It is important to realize, however, that while seizures are the primary symptom of epilepsy, simply experiencing them does not necessarily result in a diagnosis. There are several reasons why these events occur in the brain. For someone to receive the label “epileptic,” they usually need to have a sustained pattern of similar seizures that don’t appear to be caused by or related to any other known condition.
Main causes
Anyone can get this disease, and experts aren’t entirely sure why it occurs. Some cases are thought to be genetic or inherited, although they don’t usually run in families as some neurological disorders do. This means that epileptic parents are no more at risk of having an affected child than those with no history of the condition.
The condition can also be caused by a rearrangement of fluids or brain charges, often following some type of accident or head injury. In rare cases it can also be triggered by substance abuse or withdrawal from toxins such as alcohol, particularly if a person has a history of alcoholism or addiction.
In many places the condition is named or classified according to its perceived cause. A symptomatic diagnosis, for example, occurs when there is a known cause such as head trauma, brain infection, stroke, or scar tissue in the brain. The idiopathic manifestations show no clear cause for the seizures, and the affected person usually has no other disabilities. If the condition is cryptogenic, then one of the other two forms is not definitively diagnosed and the cause is usually thought to be a physical reason.
Treatment options
Most epileptics are able to control their symptoms with medication. Some medications can help keep brain chemistry balanced at all times and can help prevent seizures. Other drugs may be given to seizure patients to speed recovery and prevent brain damage during the episode. People who have been diagnosed usually need to be diligent in taking their medications and it is also usually advised to inform those close to them of their diagnosis. In general, however, the prognosis is very good.
