Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. An epileptic seizure is the clinical manifestation of an abnormal, excessive, and synchronized electrical discharge in the neurons. The occurrence of two or more unprovoked seizures defines epilepsy. The occurrence of just one seizure may warrant the definition in a more clinical usage where recurrence may be able to be prejudged. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrical activity in the brain. These episodes can result in physical injuries, either directly, such as broken bones, or through causing accidents. In epilepsy, seizures tend to recur and may have no detectable underlying cause. Isolated seizures that are provoked by a specific cause such as poisoning are not deemed to represent epilepsy. People with epilepsy may be treated differently in various areas of the world and experience varying degrees of social stigma due to the alarming nature of their symptoms.
A seizure is a sudden change in behavior, movement and/or consciousness due to abnormal electrical activity in the brain. Seizures can look different in different people. It can be uncontrolled shaking of the whole body or a person spacing out for a few seconds. Most seizures last less than two minutes. They are then followed by confusion/drowsiness before the person returns to normal. If a seizure lasts longer than 5 minutes, it is a medical emergency and needs immediate treatment.
A convulsion is a medical condition where the body muscles contract and relax rapidly and repeatedly, resulting in uncontrolled shaking. Because epileptic seizures typically include convulsions, the term convulsion is often used as a synonym for seizure. However, not all epileptic seizures result in convulsions, and not all convulsions are caused by epileptic seizures. Non-epileptic convulsions have no relation with epilepsy, and are caused by non-epileptic seizures.
Wilder Graves Penfield was an American-Canadian neurosurgeon. He expanded brain surgery's methods and techniques, including mapping the functions of various regions of the brain such as the cortical homunculus. His scientific contributions on neural stimulation expand across a variety of topics including hallucinations, illusions, dissociation and déjà vu. Penfield devoted much of his thinking to mental processes, including contemplation of whether there was any scientific basis for the existence of the human soul.
Photosensitive epilepsy (PSE) is a form of epilepsy in which seizures are triggered by visual stimuli that form patterns in time or space, such as flashing lights, bold, regular patterns, or regular moving patterns. PSE affects approximately one in 4,000 people.
The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery is a neurological hospital in Queen Square, London. It is part of the University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. It was the first hospital to be established in England dedicated exclusively to treating the diseases of the nervous system. It is closely associated with University College London (UCL) and in partnership with the UCL Institute of Neurology, which occupies the same site, is a major centre for neuroscience research.
Josemir W. Sander, also known as Ley Sander, is a Professor of Neurology and Clinical Epilepsy, and the head of Department of Clinical and Experimental Epilepsy, at UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology. He is also a Professor of Neurology at West China Hospital, Sichaun University in Chengdu, China.
Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES), also referred to as pseudoseizures, non-epileptic attack disorder (NEAD), functional seizures, or dissociative seizures, are episodes resembling an epileptic seizure but without the characteristic electrical discharges associated with epilepsy. PNES fall under the category of disorders known as functional neurological disorders (FND) and are typically treated by psychologists or psychiatrists.
Reflex seizures are epileptic seizures that are consistently induced by a specific stimulus or trigger, making them distinct from other epileptic seizures, which are usually unprovoked. Reflex seizures are otherwise similar to unprovoked seizures and may be focal, generalized, myoclonic, or absence seizures. Epilepsy syndromes characterized by repeated reflex seizures are known as reflex epilepsies. Photosensitive seizures are often myoclonic, absence, or focal seizures in the occipital lobe, while musicogenic seizures are associated with focal seizures in the temporal lobe.
Frontal lobe epilepsy (FLE) is a neurological disorder that is characterized by brief, recurring seizures arising in the frontal lobes of the brain, that often occur during sleep. It is the second most common type of epilepsy after temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), and is related to the temporal form in that both forms are characterized by partial (focal) seizures.
Frederick Andermann was a Canadian neurologist and epileptologist.
The Epilepsy Foundation, also Epilepsy Foundation of America (EFA), is a non-profit national foundation, headquartered in Bowie, Maryland, dedicated to the welfare of people with epilepsy and seizure disorders. The foundation was established in 1968 and now has a network of 59 affiliates. The foundation's programs aim to "ensure that people with seizures are able to participate in all life experiences; and to prevent, control and cure epilepsy through research, education, advocacy and services."
Post-traumatic epilepsy (PTE) is a form of acquired epilepsy that results from brain damage caused by physical trauma to the brain. A person with PTE experiences repeated post-traumatic seizures more than a week after the initial injury. PTE is estimated to constitute 5% of all cases of epilepsy and over 20% of cases of acquired epilepsy.
Epilepsy and driving is a personal and public safety issue. A person with a seizure disorder that causes lapses in consciousness may put themselves and the public at risk if a seizure occurs while they are operating a motor vehicle. Not only can a seizure itself cause a car wreck, but anticonvulsants often have side effects that include drowsiness. People with epilepsy are more likely to be involved in a traffic collision than people who do not have the condition, although reports range from minimally more likely up to seven times more likely.
Fritz E. Dreifuss, MD was a German-born, New Zealand-educated, American neurologist and subspecialist in epilepsy based at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia, US.
Generally, seizures are observed in patients who do not have epilepsy. There are many causes of seizures. Organ failure, medication and medication withdrawal, cancer, imbalance of electrolytes, hypertensive encephalopathy, may be some of its potential causes. The factors that lead to a seizure are often complex and it may not be possible to determine what causes a particular seizure, what causes it to happen at a particular time, or how often seizures occur.
Orrin Devinsky is an American neurologist who is the Director of the NYU Comprehensive Epilepsy Center and the Saint Barnabas Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery (INN). He is also a professor of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry at NYU Langone School of Medicine. Devinsky specializes in epilepsy and behavioral neurology.
The Mischer Neuroscience Institute is a combined research and education effort between the Vivian L. Smith Department of Neurosurgery and the Department of Neurology at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston and Memorial Hermann Hospital. Located in Houston, the Institute draws patients from around the world for specialized treatment of diseases of the brain and spine. It was the first center in Texas and one of only a few institutions in the country to fully integrate neurology, neurosurgery, neuroradiology, neuro-oncology, spine surgery, pain medicine and neurorehabilitation.
Theodore H. Schwartz is an American medical scientist, academic physician and neurosurgeon.
Sunil Pradhan is an Indian neurologist, medical researcher and writer, known for the invention of two electrophysiological techniques. He has also described five medical signs, of which one related to Duchenne muscular dystrophy is known as Pradhan Sign, and the others associated with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) and similar neuro diseases. The Government of India awarded him the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, in 2014 for his contributions to the field of neuroscience.
