Epilepsy is the medical condition of a brain disorder that occurs as a result of repeated spontaneous, unprovoked seizures of any kind.

Seizures are abnormal excited electrical neuron activity in the brain, leading to behaviour patterns that can be of physical or mental in nature. Seizures are categorised under Generalized Seizures and Partial Seizures.

Generalized Seizures occur from an overall activity of the brain and they are of the following 6 types

Tonic – clonice – loss of consciousness followed by jerking of the body

Absence Seizure – loss of awareness followed by blank staring

Myoclonic Seizure – Muscular jerking

Clonic Seizure – Sudden jerking

Tonic Seizure – stiffness of muscles

Atonic Seizure – sudden relaxation of muscles of limbs.

Partial Seizures arise as a result of activity in a particular area of the brain and are of 3 types

Simple partial Seizure – person remains conscious but experiences stiffening or jerking

Complex partial Seizure – person loses consciousness and perform repetitive actions.

Secondary Generalized Seizure – evolution of a partial seizure into a toni-clonic seizure

Epilepsy has many causes which can be as early as problems in the womb during the development of the baby. Other causes are genetic disorders, brain infections, injuries at the time of birth, physical metabolic abnormalities, and Tumors.  Epilepsy can be successfully diagnosed with the help of an EEG – electroencephalograph, which helps to study the electrical neuron activity in the brain. EEGs exhibiting the particular area of the brain responsible for seizures have also been reported. Sometimes it is possible for a normal EEG to be reported in-between seizures and therefore the monitoring has to be prolonged for accurate diagnosis.

Other tests that could be performed to validate and support the results of an EEG are Head CT  or MRI scan and a Lumbar puncture test.

Epilepsy is treated and controlled by way of drug therapy. Depending on the factors of age, medical history, type, frequency and severity of seizures, a special plan is formulated for an epileptic individual.  Unfortunately, there exist different types of side effects as a result of drug therapy. These side effects are of different kinds based on the type and dosage of the drug. 

Common, predictable side effects – sleepiness, unsteadiness, blurry vision, fatigue

Idiosyncratic side effects – low blood cell count, liver problems

Unique side effects – swelling of gums, hair loss etc

The duration of treatment for epilepsy varies and is not necessarily a lifelong one. Patients exhibiting the lack of occurrence of seizure can gradually be weaned out of drug therapy, thereby preventing the possibility of occurrence of seizures during the weaning process.

Besides drug therapy, surgery is also another treatment for epilepsy if prolonged medication does not help in reducing the occurrence of seizures.  A presurgical examination is conducted to assess the possibilities of occurrence of damage to essential functions of hearing, speech etc and to ensure their prevention.

A new epilepsy treatment revolves around the stimulation (usually electrical) stimulation of the vagus nerve, which branch from either side of the brain and continue down the throat.  The vagus nerves are the longest nerves in the human system and are responsible for the functions of speech and swallowing.