Epilepsy Causes, Main Symptoms and Treatment
What is epilepsy?
Epilepsy is a pathology affecting the cerebrum by preventing full-functional nerve signals transmission. Consequently, convulsions occur – conditions when a person’s behavior and consciousness changes. It’s impossible to control such conditions, nevertheless, there are certain preventive methods.
Epilepsy is a chronic pathology. Attacks recur from time to time because brain cells damaged by disease generate abnormal signals. During a seizure, a person’s consciousness is completely modified, and muscle reactions too – uncontrolled contractions, accompanied by twitches and unpleasant sensations.
Epileptic conditions types
- Pathology has a specific focus – affection of certain brain cells networks without touching other areas:
- conscious seizure;
- unconscious one.
- Epilepsy of general nature – illness affects many cells in both cerebrum parts simultaneously.
Epilepsy occurrence and progression causes
- Genetic nature of pathology. Epilepsy can be inherited – in generic clinical history there’s a gene significantly increasing the likelihood of anomalies.
- Mesial temporal sclerosis is the formation of a scar inside the temple. Mostly, this factor provokes the development of general type epilepsy.
- Serious head trauma: falls, accidents, etc.
- Cerebrum infection: encephalitis, meningitis, etc.
- Immune system functionality violation.
- Congenital developmental defects – pathology is present in organisms from birth. Seizures in these patients aren’t controlled by anticonvulsants.
- Improper metabolic process. Metabolic mechanisms violations prevent the organs from performing their functions normally.
- Other pathologies in the brain or vessels, in particular, tumors, strokes, malformations of various nature, and so on.
The symptoms of epilepsy itself are seizures recurrent from time to time. Attacks nature differs depending on the pathology type. Common seizure signals are as follows.
- Unconscious state or consciousness loss for a while.
- Twitching and muscle motions a person can’t control.
- Fixed on one object or a blank sight.
- Confused thoughts, thinking challenges, lack of understanding what is happening and difficulty in pronouncing words during an attack.
- Sharp saliva taste change in the mouth, auditory hallucinations, blurry vision of objects, numbness in limbs.
- Waves of cold or heat sweep through the body.
- Non-stop finger’s movements, smacking and palms rubbing.
- Unmotivated anxiety bouts and fear of objects/people surrounding a person.
- Rapid breathing and pulse.
Status epilepsy is also a pathological manifestation. Such a symptom is more prolonged, difficult to feel and dangerous to a person.
Mostly, symptoms for epilepsy of all epilepsy sufferers are similar.
If a person has more than two recurring seizures not being caused, for example, by refusals of alcohol, etc., the conditions are motivated by epilepsy. Doctors study the medical history of the patient himself/herself, and his/her primary relatives, prescribing a blood test and asking questions regarding the above symptoms. For the final diagnosis, the following diagnostics are carried out:
- EEG – neurons activity measuring and assessing the natural electrical impulse response;
- cerebrum scan – MRI – search for infections, abnormal formations and disorders in the vessel’s structure.
- Anticonvulsant meds – the pathology type and pre-tested drug reaction is taken into account.
- Power mode adjustment. Mostly, experts recommend adhering to the Atkins diet or ketogenic system – carbohydrate intake is reduced, proteins are normalized; nutrition is formed so that a person consumes a large amount of fat. Diet with a low glycemic index helps reduce the seizures intensity.
- Epilepsy surgery methods – the introduction of devices to control seizures and reduce their severity. Additionally, in the extreme stages of pathology development, it’s possible:
- affected cells removal;
- fiber cutting connecting the healthy and affected cerebrum parts;
- tissue implantation;
- abnormal cell destruction by radio rays.