What Is Epilepsy?
Epilepsy is a condition of the nervous system that affects 2.5 million Americans. More than 180,000 people are diagnosed with epilepsy every year.
It can be scary watching someone have an epileptic seizure. The person may lose consciousness or seem unaware of what's going on, make involuntary motions (movements the person has no control over, such as jerking or thrashing one or more parts of the body), or experience unusual feelings or sensations (such as unexplained fear). After a seizure, he or she may feel tired, weak, or confused.
People have seizures when the electrical signals in the brain misfire. The brain's normal electrical activity is disrupted by these overactive electrical discharges, causing a temporary communication …show more content…
Seizures can be triggered in anyone under certain conditions, such as life-threatening dehydration or high temperature. But when a person experiences repeated seizures for no obvious reason, that person is said to have epilepsy.
Many people develop epilepsy as children or teens. Others develop it later in life. For some people with epilepsy (particularly kids), the seizures eventually become less frequent or disappear altogether.
What Causes Epilepsy?
This is a tricky question with no clear-cut answer. Often doctors can't pinpoint exactly what causes epilepsy in a particular individual. But scientists do know that some things can make a person more likely to develop epilepsy, including:
a brain injury, such as from a car crash or bike accident an infection or illness that affected the developing brain of a fetus during pregnancy lack of oxygen to an infant's brain during childbirth meningitis, encephalitis, or any other type of infection that affects the brain brain tumors or strokes poisoning, such as lead or alcohol …show more content…
Scans of the brain, such as a computerized tomography (CT) scan or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test, may also be done. All of these tests are painless.
If the neurologist determines that a person has epilepsy, he or will recommend an appropriate type of treatment. Treatment for epilepsy usually involves medication, but sometimes other treatments may be recommended. The goal of treatment is to control seizures so that a person can live as normally as possible. In some cases, doctors can implant a device called a vagus (pronounced: VAY-gus) nerve stimulator. This device sends signals through the vagus nerve in the neck to control seizures.
A doctor also may recommend a ketogenic (pronounced: kee-toe-JEH-nik) diet, a special diet that might help people with epilepsy who don't respond well to medication alone. Sometimes doctors can help by performing surgery directly on the brain tissue when the condition can't be controlled using other treatments. eople with epilepsy can and do live normal lives. Many athletes, authors, politicians, entrepreneurs, doctors, parents, and artists have
Epilepsy is a condition of the nervous system that affects 2.5 million Americans. More than 180,000 people are diagnosed with epilepsy every year.
It can be scary watching someone have an epileptic seizure. The person may lose consciousness or seem unaware of what's going on, make involuntary motions (movements the person has no control over, such as jerking or thrashing one or more parts of the body), or experience unusual feelings or sensations (such as unexplained fear). After a seizure, he or she may feel tired, weak, or confused.
People have seizures when the electrical signals in the brain misfire. The brain's normal electrical activity is disrupted by these overactive electrical discharges, causing a temporary communication …show more content…
Seizures can be triggered in anyone under certain conditions, such as life-threatening dehydration or high temperature. But when a person experiences repeated seizures for no obvious reason, that person is said to have epilepsy.
Many people develop epilepsy as children or teens. Others develop it later in life. For some people with epilepsy (particularly kids), the seizures eventually become less frequent or disappear altogether.
What Causes Epilepsy?
This is a tricky question with no clear-cut answer. Often doctors can't pinpoint exactly what causes epilepsy in a particular individual. But scientists do know that some things can make a person more likely to develop epilepsy, including:
a brain injury, such as from a car crash or bike accident an infection or illness that affected the developing brain of a fetus during pregnancy lack of oxygen to an infant's brain during childbirth meningitis, encephalitis, or any other type of infection that affects the brain brain tumors or strokes poisoning, such as lead or alcohol …show more content…
Scans of the brain, such as a computerized tomography (CT) scan or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test, may also be done. All of these tests are painless.
If the neurologist determines that a person has epilepsy, he or will recommend an appropriate type of treatment. Treatment for epilepsy usually involves medication, but sometimes other treatments may be recommended. The goal of treatment is to control seizures so that a person can live as normally as possible. In some cases, doctors can implant a device called a vagus (pronounced: VAY-gus) nerve stimulator. This device sends signals through the vagus nerve in the neck to control seizures.
A doctor also may recommend a ketogenic (pronounced: kee-toe-JEH-nik) diet, a special diet that might help people with epilepsy who don't respond well to medication alone. Sometimes doctors can help by performing surgery directly on the brain tissue when the condition can't be controlled using other treatments. eople with epilepsy can and do live normal lives. Many athletes, authors, politicians, entrepreneurs, doctors, parents, and artists have