EPILEPSY

BY: GAVIN
WHAT IS EPILEPSY?

• Epilepsy is a brain disorder that creates a higher tendency to have seizures.

HOW DO PEOPLE GET EPILEPSY?
• People are commonly diagnosed with epilepsy due to these three main
factors:
• Brain injury/brain damage
• Abnormal structural development in the brain
• Genetics
• Can be passed down through genetics; is not contagious.
• Not all forms of epilepsy are caused by these factors.
• Neurologists often recommend getting an eeg if diagnosed
with Epilepsy.
WHAT IS A SEIZURE?

• A seizure is a brief disruption in normal brain activity that interferes with

brain function.
• During a seizure, neurons communicating with each other within the brain lose their
“rhythm” and they affect the functions of the body including senses and movements.
• During a seizure, the person experiencing it loose control of most of their functions
including speaking, walking, and sometimes breathing.
ARE SEIZURES LIFE-THREATENING?
• Very rarely are seizures deadly. It depends on the intensity of the seizure
and its duration.
• For example, if someone were to have a Grand mal seizure for less than a minute
because they received immediate attention, they will most likely be ok. In the scenario
that you see someone having a seizure, make sure that they stay laying up on their side
so that they cannot choke on their phlegm.
• Grand mal seizure-caused by abnormal electrical activity throughout the brain
(Commonly known as a “worse” type of seizure).
CAN SEIZURES BE CONTROLLED?

• Two out of three people diagnosed with Epilepsy can control it with
medication, although some cases cannot be controlled.
• Some examples of medication would be Keppra or Tegretol. (Taken by mouth
to prevent seizures from occurring)
• Some cases of Epilepsy are worse than others.
CAN EPILEPSY BE CURED?

• There are a few cases of Epilepsy that can be cured through surgery.
Most
commonly, Epilepsy cannot be cured with treatment. Instead, people with
Epilepsy tend to “grow out of” Epilepsy over time.
WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF EPILEPSY?
• There are very many types of epilepsy including:
• Benign Rolandic Epilepsy-can be controlled by medication
• Juvenile Absence Epilepsy-can usually be controlled with medication.
• Frontal Lobe Epilepsy-can be controlled with medication (Can only be passed down
through genetics)

• People with Epilepsy have a higher tendency to have a seizure is they have a
high fever.
• Most people with Benign Rolandic Epilepsy grow out of it by age 15.
• Dogs can be trained to sense seizures before they occur.
SOURCES:

• Source 1: Epilepsy Ontario, epilepsyontario.org/about-epilepsy/what-is-epilepsy/.

• Source 2: “Grand Mal Seizure.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education
and Research, 20 Oct. 2017, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/grand-mal-
seizure/symptoms-causes/syc-20363458
• Source 3: Swift, Fran. “Benign Rolandic Epilepsy.” The Johns Hopkins Epilepsy Center,
5 Oct. 2015,
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/neurology_neurosurgery/centers_clinics/epilepsy/
types/benign_rolandic_epilepsy.html