Epilepsy Research Paper

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.

Epilepsy is a brain disorder classified as a neurological disorder that affects the brain’s electrical and immoderate activity which causes a person to have a seizure. This brain disorder goes back thousands of years to Ancient Greece where these individuals believed that people had seizures, they were being visited by an evil spirit or demon. The word Epilepsy also derives from the ancient Greek word attack. Ancient Greeks also thought that this neurological disorder, Epilepsy, was infectious and for this same matter most of the people that suffered from this disorder lived alone. Now in present day, researchers and scientist know that this is not true and they now know the real factors and things that cause these seizures to occur.

There is 2 type of seizures. The Epileptic Seizures and the Non-Epileptic Seizures (NES). There are different types of epileptic seizure, but they all start in the brain. Whereas, NES do not star in the brain. NES include seizures that are caused by some condition such as hypoglycaemia, or a change to the way the heart is functioning. Also, some infants have ‘febrile convulsions’ (jerking movements) when their body temperature is high.

Epilepsy is different from seizures as it’s the reoccurrence of seizures in an individual. In epilepsy, an individual can suffer different forms of seizures. For a person to be considered of having the disorder, they would need to have had more than two unprovoked seizures (Ignatavicius & Workman, 2016). When compared to just having a seizure, a seizure is provoked by something that suddenly disturbs the electrical activity of the brain.

Epilepsy is a complicated neurological disorder that affects the central nervous system, specifically the brain. It can be caused by the over-excitation of neurons, which occurs when the electrical activity is irregular or when two or more unprovoked seizures arise. The left hemisphere communicates to the right hemisphere by sending signals in order to let it know what’s going on (vice versa). In epilepsy, the signal goes back and forth, resulting in a positive feedback. Positive feedback is a self-amplifying cycle, where a physiological change leads to a greater change in the same direction. As the stimulus goes back and forth, rapidly it gets bigger each time, hence the stimulus process becomes unstable, and an epilepsy can occur. This

A child is reported as having “active epilepsy” if their guardian reports they have a history of diagnosed epilepsy or seizure disorder (CDC, 2017). Seizures that those with epilepsy experience fall into three main categories: generalized onset seizures, focal onset seizures and unknown onset seizures. Generalized seizures affect both sides of the brain at the same time (Type of Seizures, 2017). Focal seizures begin in only one part or section of the brain (Type of Seizures, 2017). Focal seizures can happen while the person is aware of the seizure (called focal onset aware seizures) or when the person’s awareness is impaired (called focal onset impaired awareness) (Type of Seizures, 2017). Seizures are classified as unknown onset when it is unclear where the seizure began (Type of Seizures, 2017). Seizure symptoms typically include loss of consciousness, jerking movements, muscle tensing and weakness as well as spasms (Type of Seizures, 2017). Focal seizures can also include automatic movements that a repeated in a rhythmic fashion such as clapping or lip-smacking (Type of Seizures, 2017). Often time EEG tests as well as blood tests or brain imaging tests like MRI or CT scans can be used to help diagnose the type of epilepsy and seizures (Type of

To understand what a seizure is, you must first understand how the brain works. Your brain is comprised of thousands of neurons – cells that process and transmit information by interacting with each other. These interactions can be observed and assessed through an electroencephalogram. Seizures, abnormal movements or behavior due to unusual electrical activity in the brain, are a symptom of epilepsy. But not all people who appear to have seizures have epilepsy

! Epilepsy is a condition where the patient has seizures. This condition was one of

Epileptic seizure is defined by the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) as “a transient occurrence of signs and/or symptoms due to abnormal excessive and synchronous neuronal activity in the brain.” Most human epileptic seizures are result from cerebral cortex abnormalities, which cause an alteration of the neuronal discharges and synchronicity in the brain (Engel 2013).

The only visible symptom of epilepsy is epileptic seizures. An epileptic seizure is “when the normal pattern [of brain function] is interrupted by sudden and unusually intense bursts of electrical energy which may cause strange sensations, emotions, behaviors or convulsions, muscle spasms, and loss of consciousness”(cureepilepsy.org).If a person has more than two seizures that have not been provoked

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that can affect individuals off all age ranges. Also known as “seizure disorder”, epilepsy takes place when there is an electrical misfire that occurs within the brain causing reoccurring seizures to happen. Most individuals are tested with an electroencephalogram or EEG to properly diagnose the disorder such as epilepsy. There are two main types of seizures known as partial seizures or generalized seizures. Partial seizures occur within just one portion of the brain whereas generalized seizures occur when the electrical discharge affects the whole entire brain. Although currently there are no cures for the neurological disorder known as epilepsy, there are three main treatment options such as medication,

WHAT IS EPILEPSY Neurological disorder Primarily characterized by repetitive spontaneous seizures Many different types Wide range of symptoms that vary from person to person Characterized by abnormal electrical activity in brain CAUSES Caused by abnormal activity in brain cells

Sixty-five million people around the world have epilepsy, three million of those alone are in the United States. (Joseph I. Sirven MD and Patricia O. Shafer RN, 2014) What is epilepsy? According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, epilepsy is a disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of paroxysmal brain dysfunction due to a sudden, disorderly, and excessive neuronal discharge. The classification system for epilepsy is usually based upon: (1) clinical features of the seizure episodes, (2) etiology, (3) anatomic site of seizure origin, (4) tendency to spread to other structures in the brain, and (5) temporal patterns.

Epilepsy is a common neurological condition, though it is very complex. There are different types of epilepsy though the main focus is on the focal type that affect seventy percent of people who are diagnosed with it. There is primary generalized which affects thirty percent of patients. Focal is divided into two subgroups, but there are many types of generalized.

Epilepsy may develop because of an abnormality in brain wiring or an imbalance of nerve signaling chemicals called neurotransmitters. (Epilepsy (epileptic), n.d.) The symptoms of epilepsy are seizures and they fall into these categories. Simple Partial Seizures