Epilepsy

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Epilepsy

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A brain disorder characterized by transient but recurrent seizures. These seizures may or may not be associated with impairment or loss of consciousness and abnormal movements or behavior.

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Seizure

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A sudden, excessive and highly synchronous discharge of neurons in the central nervous system that results in changes in perception, sensation, and/or behavior.

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Status Epilepticus:

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A prolonged seizure (usually defined as lasting longer than 30 minutes) or a series of repeated seizures; a continuous state of seizure activity.

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Hippocrates:

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Correctly asserted that epilepsy (the Sacred Disease) is a natural disease that originates in the brain rather than a curse from the Gods. Also maintained that people with epilepsy did not hold prophetic powers. Incorrectly believed that epilepsy was caused by a surplus of cold phlegm from the brain flowing down into the warm blood of the body.

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Galen:

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First to formally note that some epileptic seizures are preceded by an ‘aura’ or specific sensation of which only the patient is aware. Incorrectly believed that some epileptic seizures can originate in the body and spread to the brain.

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Alexandros of Tralleis

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Correctly noted that alcohol can increase the risk of having a seizure, however incorrectly believed that herbal remedies would provide an effective cure for epilepsy.

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Renaissance Period

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A more scientific approach to the study of epilepsy begins, leading to a decreased emphasis on faith based or superstitious explanations of the disorder. This welcome change shortly followed a 1494 handbook on witch hunting that identified seizures as a means of identifying witches. This handbook contributed to the torture and execution of some 200,000 women.

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Samuel Auguste Tissot

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writes his Treatis on Epilepsy or the Falling Sickness (1771). Suggested a clear differentiation between idiopathic and symptomatic epilepsy.

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John Hughlings Jackson

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Realized that some forms of seizures do not involve loss of consciousness. This was the first formal identification of what are now called partial (or focal seizures). He also noted partial seizures that progressed to generalized seizures (involving whole body convulsions and loss consciousness). This is sometimes called a Jacksonian march.

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Victor Horsley

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Cured a patient with focal motor seizures by resecting the cortex adjacent to a depressed skull fracture.

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Hans Berger

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Invented the electroencephalogram (EEG, ~1929) and conclusively demonstrated the presence of fluctuating electrical potentials in the human brain.