Essay on Understanding Epilepsy

Seizures or epilepsy are brain disorders where the person has repeated convulsions over a period of time. They’re episodes of disturbed brain activity that cause changes in attention and behavior. Seizures are considered the most common observed neurological dysfunction in children. They are very sudden intermittent episodes of altered consciousness lasting seconds to minutes and include involuntary tonic (stiffening of muscles) and clonic (altering contraction and relaxation of muscles) movements.

Partial seizures are also sometimes called local or focal seizures. They take place in one hemisphere of the brain. There are two subcategories of partial seizures including simple partial and complex partial.

Seizure are uncontrolled or sudden abnormal electrical activity in the brain which causes abnormal motor and sensory activity and where the patient becomes unconsciousness. It is caused by the depolarization of the neurons. Any changes that takes place in our body that may be internal or external it can easily stimulate the irritable neurons. Seizure last for a second or a minute, in which the neurons stops unexpectedly. The pattern of electrical activity or brain waves during a seizure can be seen in EEG, by knowing what type of seizure. There are different

The two most common categories are focal and generalized epilepsy. The epilepsy that a person has is determined by the location of the damaged neurons within the brain. Focal epilepsy is characterized by seizures that affect the mind instead of the body. A seizure of the mind can cause an epileptic person to see or hear things that are not there, or to cry or feel anger for no reason. This category of epilepsy is vast but not well known, so many people that suffer from focal epilepsies are often assumed to be on drugs, alcohol, or mentally unstable. Generalized epilepsy is characterized by seizures of the body. These seizures are more commonly known throughout the world. Generalized epilepsy can be split into two subcategories by the type of seizure a person suffers from. The two types of generalized epileptic seizures are tonic-clonic seizures and absence seizures. A tonic-clonic seizure is the most well-known type of seizure. During a tonic-clonic seizure, a person loses control of their body and starts convulsing uncontrollably. Absence seizures are the near opposite of tonic-clonic seizures. During absence seizures, a person’s body is frozen and they appear to be daydreaming. Though these seizures are virtually unnoticed, they make it difficult to complete work or pay

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.

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.

“Epilepsy is a neurological condition, which affects the nervous system. (www.epilepsy.com/101/ep101_epilepsy) Epilepsy is also known as seizure disorder. People are usually diagnosed after having two seizures that was caused by a known medical condition such as extremely low blood sugar or withdrawal from alcohol.

The topic to be researched is epilepsy. Epilepsy is a serious neurological disorder where the brain is prone to seizures. Seizures are caused by neurones in the brain receiving too much electrical activity. Recurring seizures are the only visible symptom of epilepsy. Epilepsy has 2 main types of seizures – generalised and partial. The type of seizure will depend on the brain area affected. Epilepsy is most commonly diagnosed during childhood – under the age of 15, and also during later stages of life – over the age of 65. Genetics can also play a part in some types of epilepsy, such as Lafora Progressive Myoclonic Epilepsy and Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy. As epilepsy is a disorder of the central nervous system it can affect the body in different

Thus, it seems that at any one time, approximately 50 million people in the world suffer from epilepsy. (3) Today, most would agree that epilepsy involves a deviation from normal brain activity through instability of neurons. The neurobiology of epilepsy is hard to describe, as different types of seizures are related to different parts and separate problems within the brain. This instability causes them to fire in a rapid and/or excessive, synchronous and/or inconsistent manner, with excess electrical discharges within our brain resulting in a seizure. Because this involves very complicated brain activity, and "instabilities" of varying degrees or locations in the brain, there is a great difference between the appearance and treatment of acute presentations, and more severe or chronic presentations. The severity of these seizures depends on several factors: if the episode is fever induced (febrile,) can be located to one area of the brain (partial seizures and temporal lobe seizures,) can be traced to places throughout the entire brain (generalized seizure,) or can be categorized by the intensity and level of electrical activity in the brain (petit mal seizures and grand mal seizures.) Unfortunately, although epilepsy's history dates back

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

There are different types of seizures, Partial seizures are seizures that limit themselves to one part of the brain. In partial seizures, a person may experience sudden feelings of joy or sadness or sudden sensations of smell, hearing, or vision. Another type of a partial seizure is called complex partial seizure. In this type of seizure a person may display abnormal repetitive behaviors such as blinking, moving in a circle, striking out at walls or moving an arm or leg without being able to control the movement. Seizures that spread to the rest of the brain are called generalized seizures. These seizures may cause a person to:

A seizure is an instantaneous change in behavior provoked by electrical hyper synchronization of neuronal networks in the cerebral cortex. Most seizures can be categorized as either focal or generalized according to whether the onset of electrical activity involves a focal region of the brain or both sides of the brain simultaneously. The clinical manifestations of seizures vary based on the location of the seizure in the brain and the amount of cortex that is involved. Focal seizures are further classified by whether consciousness is altered or not during the event. Types of seizures include, focal seizures with retained awareness: This vary from one person to another, it’s dependent entirely on the part of the cortex that is disrupted at the commencement of the seizure; a seizure that begins in the occipital cortex may result in flashing lights, while a seizure that affects the motor cortex will result in rhythmic jerking movements of the face, arm, or leg on the side of the body opposite to the involved cortex also called Jacksonian seizure, a seizure that begins in the parietal cortex may cause distortion of spatial perception, and a seizure that begins in the dominant frontal lobe may cause sudden speech difficulties. The symptoms

The individual may appear to be in a trance and moves randomly with no control over body movements. The individual's activity does not cease during the seizure, but behavior is random and totally unrelated to the individual's surroundings. This form of seizure may be preceded by an aura (a warning sensation characterized by feelings of fear, abdominal discomfort, dizziness, or strange odors and sensations).

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.