EpilepsySierraLynn Johnson

Maggie Trainor

Epilepsy

• Epilepsy is a brain disorder in which a person has repeated seizures (convulsions) over time. Seizures are episodes of disturbed brain activity that cause changes in attention or behavior.

Causes

• Stroke• Dementia• Traumatic brain injury• Infections• Brain tumor• Brain injury during or near

birth• Metabolism disorders

Symptoms

• Staring spells• Violent shaking• Loss of alertness• Tingling• Smelling an odor that

isn’t there• Emotional changes

52 year-old woman with intractable seizures

Tests

• EEG: check electrical activity in the brain. For people with epilepsy it is often abnormal.

*Can show the area of the brain where the seizure starts.• Blood chemistry, blood sugar, complete blood count,

kidney function, liver function, lumbar puncture (spinal tap), infectious diseases

• Head CT or MRI

Treatment

• Surgery (remove abnormal brain cells) or medication

• Anticonvulsants: medication to prevent seizures

• Control diet

Expectations

• Some people can stop taking medicine after years without seizures.

• Childhood epilepsy can improve and sometimes disappear in the teens and 20s.

• For many, epilepsy is life-long.