Epilepsy : A Common Disorder

Epilepsy is a condition in which the affected person has seizures or periods of loss of consciousness. It is the second most common neurological condition in the UK.

Imagine walking down the hallway at a brand new school on your first day. You just moved to town and you are hoping to make some new friends. All of your class have been great so far and you think that this might be the best school year yet; until, you have a seizure.You have suffered from them since you were eight years old and you have always found them embarrassing and uncomfortable. How would you feel if your new friends pointed and stared while this happened? Unfortunately, this is a reality for the near 600 million people worldwide who suffer from epilepsy. Epilepsy is an incurable condition of the brain that has been affecting people’s lives for centuries.

Epilepsy is a brain disorder in which individuals have recurrent seizures. Seizures can occur in children and adults of any age. There are around 50 million people in the world who has the disorder. Individuals in developing countries are at a higher risk for developing the disorder. Seizures occur due to hyper-excitability and hyper-synchronization of neurons. Action potential transmits messages and it leads to depolarization. When neurons are uncontrollably depolarizes because of hyper-excitability due to too little inhibition, it cause a seizure. Seizures can last from a few seconds to a few minutes. As spontaneously they can develop is also as fast and spontaneous they can end.

When many people think of epilepsy they think of someone falling on the ground shaking and jerking uncontrollably and the thought makes them uncomfortable. Some believe bystanders should put a wooden spoon in the mouth of the one having a seizure and hold them down. These are both misconceptions. Most people think that epilepsy and seizures are the same, this information is also incorrect. Epilepsy is an often misinterpreted disorder. To better understand the disorder and the lives of people with Ep more information and education is needed.

Seizure disorders, according to the Mayo Clinic (2015), affect approximately 1 in 26 people in the United States. Persistent, or chronic, seizures result from a condition called epilepsy, a neurological disorder of the central nervous system. It can affect anyone regardless of age, but is more common during early childhood and after age 60. Given the number of people that seizure disorders, such as epilepsy, affect, it becomes helpful to gain a foundational understanding of the disease, including some of the causes, symptoms, and treatments available.

How attention was brought to epilepsy. First, 2.3 million people have epilepsy in America and one in twenty-six people can get epilepsy in their lifetime (“Facts”). The future of research for seizure disorders are focused on brain imaging. Epilepsy can run in the family, can cause head injuries, alcohol abuse (“Multiple”), and driving can be dangerous (Haugen 22).

In Australia alone, 250,000 people are living with epilepsy. This significant number could be lowered if, you and you alone, donated to money to finding a cure for this disease. Epilepsy should be studied more thoroughly by scientists because it effects children as well as adults, it has no cure and because 67% of cases are genetic. Please take some time out of your day to read this message and understand why we need you to make a donation to the cause.

This paper is on epilepsy and seizures. The human brain is the source of all human epilepsy. (Steven C. Schachter, Patricia O. Shafer, Joseph I. Sirven, 2013) What is epilepsy? Epilepsy is sometimes referred to a seizure disorder, though not all seizures are related to epilepsy. According to the website Stony Brook Medicine, the reason a seizure occurs is because of an unexpected surge of electrical activity in the brain. (Stony Brook Medicine, 2014) Due to the overloading of electrical activity, it causes short-lived disturbance in the messaging system between the brain cells. The word epilepsy approaches from a Greek word 'epi' signifying 'upon or above' and the Greek word

Epilepsy is not what you think. It is a complicated disease, a disease that doesn't just affect one type of person or age. Over fifty million men, women, and children cope with this disease daily. Epilepsy is a mysterious disease to those who are unfamiliar and uneducated about the disease. Many people have preconceived notions about Epileptics. Researching the topic thoroughly, the five preconceived notions I explored have been proven to be false.

Epilepsy is a central nervous system disorder in which nerve cell activity in the brain becomes disrupted, causing seizures or periods of unusual behavior, sensations and sometimes loss of consciousness. Epilepsy also known as seizures is a brain disorder involving repeated, spontaneous seizures of any type. Epilepsy is not a single disorder but rather a wide spectrum of problems. What all types of epilepsy share are recurrent, unprovoked seizures caused by an uncontrolled electrical discharge from nerve cells in the cerebral cortex. This part of the brain controls higher mental functions, general movement, and the functions of the internal organs in the abdominal cavity, perception, and behavioral reactions.

Epilepsy, also called seizure disorder, chronic brain disorder that briefly interrupts the normal electrical activity of the brain to cause seizures, characterized by a variety of symptoms including uncontrolled movements of the body, disorientation or confusion, sudden fear, or loss of consciousness. Epilepsy may result from a head injury, stroke, brain tumor, lead poisoning, genetic conditions, or severe infections like meningitis or encephalitis. In over 70 percent of cases no cause for epilepsy were identified. About 1 percent of the world population, or over 2 million people, are diagnosed with epilepsy.

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that causes individuals to have frequent seizures. However, originally epilepsy was not considered a biological or medical issue. Rather, It was said to be some sort of curse summoned by spirits or wrathful deities. Famed ancient Greek physician, Hippocrates, was the first individual to document epilepsy correctly as a biological disorder in 400 B.C. Although Hippocrates incorrectly believed epilepsy to be a condition caused by the imbalance of certain bodily fluids, he did correctly conclude that the condition was natural and neurological. Centuries later English neurologist, John Hughlings Jackson, accurately determined that seizures resulted from excessive electrical discharges

Epilepsy is a neurological infirmity that involves repeated, involuntary seizure activity [1]. The seizures are produced by the sudden burst of hyperactivity in the brain, causing strange sensations, body stiffening, loss of memory or behaviour, jerking of arms and legs etc. More than 2% of the population are affected by epilepsy. The seizure symptoms may differ from one person to another and can be triggered by various factors which include brain injury or brain tumour, alcohol or drug effects, genetic disorders and infections. Quick diagnosis and early treatment is essential to avoid any dangerous and life threatening situations [2].

Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by recurrent unprovoked seizures . (1) The word epilepsy conjures up something rather frightening and undesirable in most people's mind, especially if unconsciousness, violent movement and impaired communication are involved . (2)

Epilepsy is a condition in which a person has two or more seizures affecting a variety of mental and physical functions. Epilepsy is one of the oldest conditions of the human race. Epilepsy Awareness is important because Epilepsy is a widely misunderstood disorder. The reason that Epilepsy has been misunderstood has been mainly due to research not being conducted until the middle of the nineteenth century. There are six main types of seizures and many treatments that can assist an epileptic patient. Many facts and myths exist about a person who has Epilepsy, which, is why it is an important disorder to understand. A person living with Epilepsy can typically have a normal life after seeking medical advice from doctors.