What is Epilepsy?

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Epilepsy is often referred to as a seizure disorder and it primarily affects the nervous system. It is a neurologic disorder that is accompanied by seizures which, in turn, is caused by the abnormal signaling of the neurons in the brain. This excessive neuronal brain activity causes the neurons to send signals to up to five hundred times faster than the normal rate.
Epileptic seizures are characterized as uncontrollable muscle movements and this could result to the patient losing consciousness or having his entire body stiffen or jerk severely. But not all patients who experience seizures have epilepsy.

Non-epileptic seizures are psychogenic in nature and patients who have this type of seizure usually call for attention, want to avoid stressful events or have psychiatric issues which can be addressed by mental health experts. Non-epileptic seizures can also be caused by narcolepsy, cardiac arrhythmia, Tourette syndrome, and other medical disorders that have symptoms that resemble those of epilepsy.

Epilepsy in Men

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Epilepsy is characterized by epileptic seizures that can be caused by genetic abnormality, brain trauma, and infections in the nervous system or precipitants such as light or bold patterns. There is increased neuronal activity in the brain which causes the neurons to send signals at a faster rate than normal. This seizure disorder is more common in children and in the elderly. More than half of the first seizures attacks happen before the age of twenty.

Epilepsy in men is more prevalent than in women. Children with epilepsy have probably inherited their defective gene for epilepsy from their mother rather than from their father. Aside from defective genes and brain injuries, heart diseases, stroke and other cardiovascular ailments which deprive the brain of oxygen could also increase the chances of developing epilepsy.

Diagnosis for Epilepsy

Related Information: Diagnosis for Epilepsy, epilepsy syndromes, Electroencephalogram (EEG) Monitoring, Brain scans, Blood tests, Behavioral, developmental and neurological tests

People with epilepsy are diagnosed after having two or more seizures that are not caused by withdrawal from alcohol or low blood sugar levels. Epileptic seizures should also be spontaneous. Non-epileptic seizures are psychogenic in nature and those with epilepsy can also exhibit non-epileptic and epileptic seizures. Seizures can occur due to lack of sleep, hormonal imbalance, especially in women, alcohol consumption, and chronic exposure to stress.

There are many epilepsy syndromes which are triggered by different and unique precipitants. This is called reflex epilepsy. It is important that the precipitant is known so that proper diagnosis can be done. The patient should always give a complete medical history to his doctor.

Aside from close observation, the patient can also be diagnosed by using the following:

Depression and Epilepsy

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Epilepsy patients are also prone to having depression. Epilepsy patients have always been faced by the dilemma of social stigma. The epileptic seizures to which the patients have no control of is always met with disgust and hate. Very few people understand the true nature of the disorder and very few still are willing to associate themselves with those who have epilepsy.

Due to these conditions, many epilepsy patients tend to develop depression and anxiety disorders. Epilepsy causes depression and the formation of negative emotions due to the damage in the temporal lobe where most partial seizures originate.

Depression or major depression is brought upon by a myriad of generic, biological, social and physical factors. People who have this disorder have feelings of worthlessness or always down and lethargic. They become anti-social in more ways than one and tend to sever ties from their families and friends.

Death from Epilepsy

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Epilepsy is characterized by epileptic seizures which are brought about by an abnormal wiring of the neurons. This causes an increase in neuronal activity and makes the neurons send signals at a faster rate than normal.

Epileptic seizures have varied and different precipitants and are caused by different epileptic syndromes. The main causes of epilepsy are the following:
1. Genetic factor ? maternal defective genes are passed on to their children.
2. Brain trauma or injury ? caused by tumors and infections in the nervous system
3. Excess amounts of excitatory neurotransmitters ? glutamate, a known excitatory neurotransmitter, and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), an inhibitory neurotransmitter, are being studied to know their exact roles in the prevalence of epileptic seizures.

Childhood Epilepsy

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Epilepsy is more prevalent in children and in the elderly. The majority of the first seizure attack happens before the age of twenty. Children with epilepsy are more likely to have inherited their defective gene from their mothers rather than from their fathers.

Aside from genetic factors, seizures in children may have been caused by any of the following:

? Febrile seizures or seizures caused by fever
? Head injury
? Lack of oxygen in the brain due to certain disorders such as cerebral palsy and hydrocephalus
? Infections in the brain
? Brain development disorders

Children with autism and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at high risk of developing epilepsy. Most epileptic episodes during childhood are benign and will not continue on to adulthood. When this is the case, the child?s development will proceed normally; otherwise, the seizures are serious and would result to delay in the child?s developmental or intellectual abilities.

Cerebral Palsy and Epilepsy

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Epileptic seizures are more likely to occur in very specific areas of the brain such as the temporal lobe and motor cortex. The temporal contains the hippocampus, an area associated with learning and memory, while the motor cortex is involved with movement.

The most common form of cerebral palsy is the spastic cerebral palsy which is triggered when the motor cortex is damaged. More patients with cerebral palsy develop epilepsy than epileptic patients develop cerebral palsy. Epilepsy does not cause cerebral palsy and vice versa but these disorders simply coexist.

Cerebral palsy affects bodily movements and muscle coordination. This disorder may be caused by disturbance during delivery of the infant or through brain damage shortly after birth:

? Fetal infection due to rupture of the amniotic membranes
? Poor nutrition of the mother
? Exposure to toxic substances such as alcohol and nicotine
? Maternal diabetes or high blood pressure
? Premature delivery
? Abnormal position of the baby in the womb
? Meningitis

Causes of Epilepsy

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Epilepsy is brought about by an abnormal wiring in the brain which causes the neurotransmitters in the brain to send faster signals to the muscles. There is reason to believe that epilepsy patients have a higher-than normal amount of neurotransmitters (excitatory) which increases neuronal activity in the brain. High neuronal activity increases the chance of developing epileptic seizures which mainly characterizes this disorder.

Studies about GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), which inhibits transmission, and glutamate, an excitatory neurotransmitter, are now underway to fully understand their roles in epilepsy. Studies regarding the cell?s membrane and the glia cells are also being done. The cell membrane is important in the generation of electrical impulses while glia cells regulate the concentration of most chemicals located in the human brain that affect signal transmission.

Autism and Epilepsy

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Autism is a mental disorder that is related to defective genes. This is characterized by the impairment in communication and social interaction. Autism is highly associated with epilepsy in early childhood. Although there are no conclusive claims to explain this comorbid phenomenon, it has been suggested that epilepsy and autism are linked because of brain abnormalities during development.

The symptoms are evident before reaching the age of three. Most of the patients with autism have restricted and repetitive behaviour such as stacking things or lining them up one by one.

Patients will show little or no reaction to stimuli and are likely to manipulate other people?s hand to communicate. They are not able to speak clearly and have difficulty recognizing emotional cues. Children with autism can develop intimacy with their primary care givers and do not prefer to be alone, contrary to some belief.

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Epilepsy

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Considered to be quite common in children, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is characterized as having difficulty in keeping focused and in controlling hyperactivity or behaviour. This disorder can go on until the child reaches adolescence and even adulthood. Epilepsy is among the most common and risky comorbid disorders to occur with ADHD.

A mild subtype of epilepsy called child absence epilepsy can mimic ADHD symptoms like loss of focus and attention after seizure attack and can be easily misdiagnosed. Another epilepsy subtype, the Rolandic epilepsy could also mimic some AHD symptoms. Although both disorders may show overlapping symptoms, the neurotransmitters involved in these disorders are different.

So far, there are no known cures for ADHD but scientists are already looking into more effective treatments that would not only contain the symptoms but finally alleviate them.