The History Of Epilepsy

Hippocrates main concepts are derived from the fact that this disease originates from a natural cause. He states , "Men regard its nature and cause as divine from ignorance and wonder...this notion of divinity is kept up by their inability to comprehend it (33-35)." It was this 'sacred disease' of epilepsy that people used to connect with divine interference. Divine stimulation was never in form of a sickness or disease. These people were under the idea that sickness was not a sole presence, but rather an ailment that affects the human body and is sent by divinities. Therefore people did little to treat the affected, but rather tried to appease the so-called divine powers that sent the disease. In fact, the epileptic attacks were often referred to different gods depending on the symptoms such as Poseidon, Ares, Apollo, and Hecate.

Epilepsy is one of the longest disorders that have been around. Dr. John Hughlings Jackson (1835-1911) was the first person to provide an acceptable classification of seizures to the medical community. Seizures can be classified as a generalized seizure or as a partial seizure. Generalized seizures involve both hemispheres of the brain. It can

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.

One again epilepsy took on religious implications throughout the middle ages and renaissance period similar to the Greeks, although, a difference in opinion between the commoners and the nobles were present. The church and the nobles were convinced that epilepsy was not a disease rather a sign of prophetic powers and great intelligence. As for the commoners, they viewed it as a terrible illness and sought a cure through contact with holy relics. The enlightenment started to change the way people view epilepsy. It was once again believed to be a natural disease, and this theory was accepted globally. However, it was also believed to be a form of insanity and contagious resulting in epileptics being confined in a mental hospital away from other

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 Research Paper People most often associate violent twitching, falling to the floor and drooling with epilepsy. However the described event is only one kind of an epileptic seizure, which is called a tonic-clonic seizure. There are many other kinds of seizures, and each has different sets of signs and symptoms. During generalized seizures the whole brain is affected and the initial symptom is loss of consciousness. This category includes such seizures as absence seizure, myoclonic seizure, and atonic attack.

There have been solutions that were introduced in the past and that are still used today to determine if a person has epilepsy. One of the solutions is called the electroencephalography (EEG), which was introduced in 1929 by the German psychiatrist Hans Berger (Jefferys, 2010). This was a breakthrough in psychiatric and neurological history. It was a minimally invasive diagnostic test that recorded the electrical patterns in a person’s brain. This allowed doctors to measure the electricity that the brain makes and to determine the brain’s activity. Overtime, it became popularly used during the late 1940s and early 1990s (Jefferys, 2010). This was the time when digital EEG recordings became available. Then, in the late 1990s, the digital recordings became faster, demonstrating the presence of ripples and fast ripples, which marked as epileptogenic zone (Jefferys, 2010). During an EEG, a patient would have tiny electrodes and wires attached to his/her head. The brain waves would be detected through the electrodes, which would then allow for the EEG machine to formulate the brain signals and record them on a paper or on a screen (“EEG,” 2016). An EEG is still used today. Another solution used to determine if a person has epilepsy is the patch-clamp technique. It was developed by Neher and Sakmann between the 1970s and 1980s. This method

There are a lot of misconceptions about epilepsy for those who are not familiar with the neurological disorder. Some of the most common questions we receive at Aura America have to do with these misconceptions. We have also noticed most of these questions seem to derive from what's being displayed on television, in particular, medical dramas. No worries. We're here to clear some of the confusion. Today, we’re busting the top six myths concerning epilepsy.

People uneducated about Epilepsy may have confused thoughts on what it really is. People have these "notions," which are partly or entirely not true. So, throughout this research paper, these notions will be proven untrue, mostly by factual information given by

‘Epilepsy’ comes from the ancient Greek word which means epilepsia, meaning seizure. According to Epilepsy Foundation of Eastern Pennsylvania, “Epilepsy is a brain disorder that causes seizures, which is a change in the normal brain actively.” Seizures which is not a disease resulting from unusual electrical activity in the brain is a significant symptom for epilepsy. Epilepsy seizures last from few seconds to couple of minutes. While all seizures are not related with epilepsy, generalized seizure, Focal seizure, Status epilepticus are significant seizures for epilepsy. Epileptic seizures are formed by abnormal electricity producing from the brain. There are several kinds of epilepsy with different types of seizures. There is no specific age group, race, nationality or social level who are suffers most in epilepsy. People from all ages can affected by epilepsy, specially from two to sixty-five ages are more affected. It is very important for neurologist to early diagnose the type of epilepsy. Patient having multiple epilepsy with variety of seizures, without early diagnosis all of them it is very tough to treatment a patient in an effective way.

Epilepsy is a general term for any brain disorder that causes unpredictable regular seizures. These seizures as caused by a disturbance in the brain’s electrical activity. It is considered a chronic neurological disorder, the fourth most common in the world. There were around 3.4 million people reported as having epilepsy in the United States in 2015 with 470,000 of those being children (CDC, 2017). This is about 1.2% of the population in the United States (CDC, 2017). There are about 50 million people who experience epilepsy globally (WHO, 2017). In the District of Columbia there are about 7,500 cases of active epilepsy. It’s estimated that 2.4 million people per year are diagnosed with epilepsy globally (WHO, 2017).

This paper will focus on the history of epilepsy, the causes of the disease specifically its genetic link and the evolution of drug therapies. My interest in this topic stems from working with people with developmental disabilities in a group home setting, many of whom suffer from seizure disorders. I understand that the disease carries a stigma and many people still hide that they have the condition which why it’s important to educate people about it.

Geyelin cited the case of a “child of a friend” age 10 years, who “for 4 years had

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 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.