Epilepsy – What is it, Symptoms and Treatments

Epilepsy – What is it, Symptoms and Treatments of this disease that affects thousands of people. In addition, Epilepsy is a disease of the central nervous system where intense electrical discharges occur that cannot be controlled by the person themselves, causing symptoms such as uncontrolled body movements and tongue bite, for example. This neurological disease has no cure, but it can be controlled with the drugs indicated by the neurologist, such as Carbamazepine or Oxcarbazepine. In most cases, those who have epilepsy can lead a normal life, but they must undergo  lifelong treatment to avoid crises.

It is a temporary and reversible change in brain function that has not been caused by fever, drugs or metabolic disorders. For a few seconds or minutes, a part of the brain emits incorrect signals, which can be restricted to that location or spread. If they are restricted, the crisis will be called partial; if they involve both cerebral hemispheres, generalized. Therefore, some people may have more or less evident symptoms of Epilepsy , which does not mean that the problem is less important if the crisis is less apparent.

Causes of Epilepsy: There are multiple factors that can trigger an epileptic seizure. Among the most common, we can highlight brain injuries resulting from birth trauma and head injuries – which cause brain scarring. Excessive alcohol intake, consumption of drugs or other toxic substances, infectious diseases (such as meningitis), neurocysticercosis (“lonely eggs” in the brain ), tumors, or hemorrhagic or ischemic strokes and other cardiovascular problems , can also cause an epileptic seizure.

An epileptic seizure does not characterize a picture of Epilepsy . For this to occur, it is necessary that, within a year, there are two or more spontaneously originated crises. Contrary to many popular beliefs, epilepsy is not contagious. However, most cases of Epilepsy – when they are not symptoms of other diseases – do not have a clear origin.

Genetically-caused brain disorders are among the possible causes. Many factors, genetic or acquired, can damage neurons to the point of causing Epilepsy . The most frequent causes are

• head injuries
• drugs or toxics
• stroke
• degenerative brain diseases
• infectious and parasitic diseases
• vascular, metabolic and nutritional disorders
• tumors
• genetic factors
• birth trauma
• brain malformations

Symptoms of Epilepsy: Epileptic seizures can manifest in different ways: The seizure is the form most known to people and is identified as an “epileptic attack”. In this type of crisis, the person can fall to the ground, present muscle contractions throughout the body, tongue biting, intense salivation, wheezing and sometimes even urinating. The “absence” type crisis is known as “shutdowns”. The person stares, loses contact with the environment for a few seconds.

Due to its very short duration, it is often not noticed by family members and/or teachers. There is a type of crisis that manifests itself as if people are “alert” but have no control over their actions, making movements automatically. During these involuntary automatic movements, the person may be chewing, talking in an incomprehensible way, or walking around in an unclear direction.

Usually, the person does not remember what happened when the crisis ends. This is called a complex partial seizure. There are other types of seizures that can cause falls to the ground without any movement or contractions, or have strange visual or auditory perceptions, or even transient memory changes.

Epilepsy Treatments: The treatment for epilepsy serves to reduce the number and intensity of epileptic seizures, since there is no cure for this disease . Treatmentcan be done with medication , electrostimulation and even brain surgery  and, therefore, the best form of treatment should always be evaluated with a neurologist, according to the intensity of each patient’s crises, for example.

In addition to these proven techniques, there are still some methods that are being tried, such as cannabidiol, which is a substance made from marijuana that can help regulate electrical impulses in the brain, reducing the chances of having a crisis. The use of anticonvulsant drugs is usually the first treatment option , since many patients stop having frequent seizures with just the daily intake of one of these drugs .
Some examples include:

• Phenobarbital;
• Valproic acid;
• Phenytoin;
• Clonazepam;
• Lamotrigine;
• gabapentin
• Semi-sodium valproate;
• Carbamazepine;

Note:  During an epileptic seizure, the person should be placed on their side to facilitate breathing, and they should not be moved during seizures, removing objects that could fall or injure the person. The crisis should pass in up to 5 minutes, if it takes longer, it is recommended to take the person to the emergency room or call an ambulance by calling 192.