Epilepsy is a neurological disorder causing seizures and/ or periods of unusual behavior and sensations. Sometimes loss of awareness is also seen in epileptic conditions. Often epileptic individuals simply stare blankly for a few seconds during the course of the seizure, while some repeatedly twitch their limbs.
There are 2 types of epileptic seizures. They are:
Focal seizures are result of abnormal activity in an area of the brain. They are in turn classified as focal seizures without loss of consciousness and focal seizures with impaired awareness. In focal seizures without loss of consciousness, there will be an alteration in their emotions or change in the sensory perceptions. Other sensory symptoms include such as tingling, dizziness, and flashing lights. An involuntary jerking of a body part is characteristic of this kind of focal seizure. Staring and not responding to the environment or repetitive movements are characteristic of focal seizures with impaired awareness.
Generalized seizures occur in almost all parts of the brain. There are 6 types of this seizures such as absence seizures, tonic seizures, atonic seizures, clonic seizures, myoclonic seizures, and tonic-clonic seizures.
Abnormal functioning of the brain and seizure affecting the brain coordination leads to epilepsy. The signs and symptoms include the following:
The causes of epilepsy are traced to various factors. They are as follows:
Diagnosis of epilepsy involves a series of examinations and tests performed by a trained practitioner. Following are some diagnostic techniques:
There is no 100% cure for epilepsy though its symptoms and severity can be reduced using various therapies. If therapies do not work, surgery is recommended.
Anti-seizure medication or an anti-epileptic medication helps patients relieve from the symptoms of epilepsy. Epilepsy when diagnosed at an early stage can be treated significantly using an anti-epileptic, though early diagnosis is highly next to impossible.
When therapies fail, epilepsy surgery is recommended, where parts of the brain that is affected with seizures is removed. Many people continue to take medications after surgery to prevent recurrence.
Apart from surgery, vagus nerve stimulation is also performed as a treatment option. In this technique a vagus nerve stimulator is placed in the patient’s chest and wires from the stimulator are connected to the vagus nerve in the neck. This device when powered by a battery sends electrical stimulations to the brain thereby treating the seizures. But this technique is known to have a success rate of just 20%-40%.
The final conventional option for treatment is the deep brain stimulation, where electrodes are implanted into the thalamus. These electrodes are connected to a generator implanted in the chest, thereby sending electrical pulses to the brain. This helps reduce seizures.
Stem cells are programmed to become neurons and treat the scarred region. They help normal electrical functioning of the neurons and halt the seizures. When mesenchymal stem cells were used for treatment, results showed therapy achieving disease remission. The number of responders by seizure frequency was significantly high. The repair of neurons also improved memory and mood.