Background
Epilepsy is a neurological condition affecting the central nervous system. It is most commonly characterized by the recurrent, unprovoked seizures patients endure. Epilepsy is usually diagnosed after an individual as two seizures not caused by a known medical condition like extremely low blood pressure or alcohol withdrawal. More than three million Americans have epilepsy, 30 percent of whom are under the age of 18. About 200,000 new cases are diagnosed each year, yet the cause of the disease remains mostly unknown. Thirty percent of cases do in fact have a contributing factor to the disease's development. Brain tumor and/or stroke, head trauma, poisoning (including lead poisoning and substance abuse), infection (including meningitis, viral encephalitis and lupus) or fetal injury or infection are known causes of epilepsy. The remaining 70 percent of cases, however, have no known cause. An Epilepsy Foundation report from 2000 reveals the disease costs the United States more than $16.6 billion every year in health care and unemployment.
Seizures
Seizures are the most tell-tale and dangerous symptom of epilepsy. During a seizure, a sudden surge of electrical activity in the brain -- usually in the cortex -- will suddenly alter a person's behavior. Seizure victims may black out, convulse, drool and their eyes may roll up. Teeth grinding, tongue biting and shaking are other physical signs of seizure. Not all seizures, however, will be as severe or tell-tale as others and the symptoms can vary. Seizures lasting more than 30 minutes can cause permanent neurological damage or death. Seizure patients can also die from vomit inhalation during or after a seizure. Generally, however, seizures are not fatal and the life expectancy of someone with epilepsy is the same as that of a normal, healthy individual.
Curing epilepsy
The only way to cure epilepsy is with surgical removal of the seizure-causing areas of the brain. For more than 50 years, this has been an accepted practice when medicines fail to prevent seizures. However, surgery for epilepsy, as with any brain surgery, is an incredibly delicate procedure requiring exact incisions and movements. Modern technology has reduced the amount of brain tissue lost during surgery by 50 percent in the last several years. New tools are also making mapping the brain before surgery even easier.
Electroencephalography (EEG) and video EEG record electrical impulses from the nerves in the head. Detectors are placed on the scalp and see what the electrical impulses look like when the patient is awake, asleep, in a room with flashing lights or when they breathe deeply. It determines if a patient's level of alertness is normal, if abnormalities exist in a particular part of the brain or if patients have a tendency to have seizures.
For more information, please contact:
Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh
http://www.chp.edu
Neurology department
(412) 692-5520
