Epilepsy Warning
Epilepsy refers to a brain disorder that causes severe seizures (Shorvon, 2010). A seizure is defined as distinct changes in sensation and awareness that are caused by the electrical disturbances in the brains (Shorvon, 2010). In relation to epilepsy, the seizures usually recur and they do not have any fundamental cause whereas a seizure that takes place because of the particular cause that is believed to characterize epilepsy.
In addition, the principal cause of several conditions of epilepsy is not well-known though many individuals believe that is caused by brain injury, brain tumor, and stroke among others (Appleton & Marson, 2009). The epileptic seizures are mainly brought about by the excessive as well as anomalous cortical nerve cells activities in the brains. This disease can affects individuals of all age groups, races and ethnic backdrops. Surprisingly, over 2.7M Americans citizens are living with this terrible disease (Shorvon, 2010). Besides, about 161,000 Americans develop seizures as well as epilepsy (Shorvon, 2010).
Three distinctive seizures cause epilepsy, and they include provoked and febrile seizures, and epileptic encephalopathy (Chappell & Crawford, 2001). The provoked seizure is a seizure than has palpable and instant proceding cause such as the metabolic disturbance or that has direct consequence of the current acute cerebral damage such as stoke (Shorvon, 2010). The febrile seizure is defined as the epileptic incident that takes place in the background of the acute increase in the human body temperature especially in children of 6months to six years (Shorvon, 2010). The epileptic encephalopathy is the clinical state where the changes in the cognition or various cerebral functions are likely to be directly because of the constant epileptic processes in the individuals’ brain, and they are widespread in children (Appleton & Marson, 2009). In addition, the idiopathic generalized as well as symptomatic epilepsy are key categories of epilepsy.
In relation to idiopathic generalized epilepsy, the disorder is frequently associated with the individual’s family unit history of epilepsy. This epilepsy usually starts to show up in childhood or the adolescence stage, but it is diagnosed when one becomes adulthood. Additionally, no nervous system abnormalities occur in this category. The brain is often structurally normal on the brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan (Shorvon, 2010).
On the other hand, individuals who suffer from idiopathic generalized epilepsy are known to have standard intelligence as well as the outcomes of a neurological exam and the MRI is often normal. Besides, the outcomes of the electroencephalogram indicate the epileptic expulsions that affect a single or several regions in the human brain. Individuals with this kind of epilepsy are generally treated with special medications (Chappell & Crawford, 2001).
The symptomatic generalized epilepsy is mainly caused by the severe brain damage. For example, the brain damage caused during child birth is major cause of symptomatic generalized epilepsy (Appleton & Marson, 2009). In relation to seizures, people with this epilepsy usually have various neurological problems like the mental retardation. Moreover, inherited brain disorders for instance adrenoleukodystrophy (ADL) or other brain illness like meningitis can as well bring about symptomatic generalized epilepsy (Shorvon, 2010). However, if the key cause of the epilepsy is not identifiable, then, this disorder is known as cryptogenic epilepsy.
The multiple kinds of symptomatic partial epilepsy are the prevalent epilepsy that usually starts in adulthood, and it does not take place in children. It is caused by the localized anomaly of the brain that often stem from the brain tumors, and congenital among other injurious activities (Chappell & Crawford, 2001). Besides, the symptomatic partial epilepsy is effectively treated with special surgery that is mainly intended to take out the anomalous brain region without compromising the role of the other parts of the brain. Most importantly, the epilepsy surgery is immensely effective in a big figure of the epilepsy patients who failed the several anticonvulsant medications as well as those with particular lesions. Therefore, these patients normally go through the pre-surgical comprehensive epilepsy assessment in the fanatical together with specialized epilepsy centers (Shorvon, 2010).
Generally, the most recommended treatment of epilepsy is use of the anticonvulsant drugs on the daily basis in order to prevent the occurrence of seizures in the brains (Appleton & Marson, 2009). This is because the medications often work on the human brain signals accordingly to facilitate effective limitation of the hyper-excitability. However, these medications do not heal epilepsy but they allow several individuals to live ordinary and lively lives (Chappell & Crawford, 2001). In addition, other treatment for this brain disorder is the nerve stimulation that mostly entails the electronic stimulation of the human brain by use of the implanted gadget such as pacemaker (Shorvon, 2010). Lastly, the anticonvulsant drugs are also the preferred medications of epilepsy since they immensely prevent the occurrence of seizures.
In conclusion, epilepsy is a widespread neurological disease that is mainly typified by the recurring and unprovoked seizures. The human brain tumors, injuries as well as strokes are the imperative causes of the epilepsy. In addition, the epileptic seizures are often brought about by the extreme and anomalous cortical nerve cell activities especially on the crucial parts of the brain. Around 2.7M individuals are living with this disease in the United States, and this implies that it is dreaded disease across the globe.
