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Epilepsy/Fits
Epilepsy is a long-term (chronic) disease that causes repeated seizures due to abnormal electrical signals produced by damaged brain cells. A burst of uncontrolled electrical activity within brain cells causes a seizure. Seizures can include changes to your awareness, muscle control (your muscles may twitch or jerk), sensations, emotions and behavior.
What happens in your brain when you have epilepsy?
- The cells in your brain send messages to and receive messages from all areas of your body. These messages are transmitted via a continuous electrical impulse that travels from cell to cell. Epilepsy disrupts this rhythmic electrical impulse pattern. Instead, there are bursts of electrical energy — like an unpredictable lightning storm — between cells in one or more areas of your brain. This electrical disruption causes changes in your awareness (including loss of consciousness), sensations, emotions and muscle movements.
Symptoms and Causes
What are the signs and symptoms of epileptic seizures?
- Temporary loss of awareness or consciousness.
- Uncontrolled muscle movements, muscle jerking, loss of muscle tone.
- Blank stare or “staring into space” look.
- Temporary confusion, slowed thinking, problems with talking and understanding.
- Changes in hearing, vision, taste, smell, feelings of numbness or tingling.
- Problems talking or understanding.
- Upset stomach, waves of heat or cold, goosebumps.
- Lip-smacking, chewing motion, rubbing hands, finger motions.
- Psychic symptoms, including fear, dread, anxiety or déjà vu.
What causes epilepsy?
Most of the time (in up to 70% of cases), the cause of seizures is not known. Known causes include:
- Genetics. Some types of epilepsy (like juvenile myoclonic epilepsy and childhood absence epilepsy) are more likely to run in families (inherited). Researchers believe that although there’s some evidence that specific genes are involved, the genes only increase the risk of epilepsy, and other factors may be involved. There are certain epilepsies that result from abnormalities that affect how brain cells can communicate with each other and can lead to abnormal brain signals and seizures.
- Mesial temporal sclerosis. This is a scar that forms in the inner part of your temporal lobe (part of your brain near your ear) that can give rise to focal seizures.
- Head injuries. Head injuries can result from vehicular accidents, falls or any blow to the head.
- Brain infections. Infections can include brain abscess, meningitis, encephalitis and neurocysticercosis.
- Immune disorders. Conditions that cause your immune system to attack brain cells (also called autoimmune diseases) can lead to epilepsy.
- Metabolic disorders. People with a metabolic condition (how your body obtains energy for normal functions) can have epilepsy. Your healthcare provider can detect many of these disorders through genetic tests.
Surgical Interventions:
- For patients with drug-resistant epilepsy, surgical options such as resective surgery (removing the seizure focus), laser ablation, or implantation of devices like vagus nerve stimulators may be considered.
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