Epilepsy is a brain disorder in which a person has seizures, periods of abnormal electrical activity in the brain that do not cause permanent damage. While currently considered an incurable disorder, epilepsy does typically respond well to treatment, allowing the epileptic person to lead a normal life most of the time.
Seizures
Epilepsy is defined by having more than one seizure caused by a brain abnormality. A single seizure, or one caused by something other than a misfiring brain cannot be described as epilepsy. Seizures that are non-epileptic may occur due to high fever in children, tumors in the brain or psychological trauma. During a seizure, individual neurons or clusters of neurons fire rapidly or at the same time, disrupting normal brain functioning. Seizures caused by epilepsy may be partial seizures, also known as focal seizures, which are limited to only one portion of the brain. They may also be generalized seizures, which involve the entire brain.
Symptoms
The severity of epileptic seizures may vary with the individual and even with the specific seizure. According to MayoClinic.com, some seizures resulting from epilepsy present themselves as severe convulsions. Others are more subtle, only noticeable to others as a blank stare for a few minutes or seconds.
Medical Scans
The damage that causes epilepsy is recognizable using brain scans such as computerized tomography or magnetic resonance imaging scans (MRI), or through analysis of an electroencephalogram (EEG) An EEG observes brain activity through electrodes placed on the head and may detect abnormal neuronal patterns in an epileptic even when a seizure is not in progress. A computerized tomography, or CT, scan uses X-rays to observe the brain's structure, and magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, uses radio waves and magnets to do the same thing. These tests can help distinguish epilepsy from other causes of seizures.
Treatment Response
According to Epilepsy.com, after trying one seizure medication, about 50 to 60 percent of epileptics will stop having seizures. This rate rises to 80 percent when those who weren't helped by the first drug go on to try a second seizure medication. More than half of children diagnosed with epilepsy grow out of it and stop having seizures as they get older.
Myths
Many people become nervous or frightened when they encounter a person with epilepsy or someone who is in the midst of an epileptic seizure. However, seizures are not contagious and typically subside on their own, so there is no reason to be afraid. While some individuals with disorders causing mental disability also have epilepsy, the condition in itself is not a precursor to mental retardation or mental illness. Most people with epilepsy are completely normal when they are not having a seizure.
