CAUSES

In about 70 percent of cases there is no known cause. Of the remaining 30 percent, the following are most frequent:

• Head trauma, especially from automobile accidents, gunshot wounds, sports accidents, falls and blows at work or in the home. The more severe the injury, the greater the risk of developing epilepsy.
• Brain tumor and stroke.
• Poisoning, such as lead poisoning. More than 5,000 persons each year are reported to suffer seizures caused by alcoholism.
• Alcohol and Drug Abuse, Cocaine babies (babies exposed to cocaine) are at risk for having seizures which may signal the onset of epilepsy.
• Infection - Meningitis, viral encephalitis, lupus erythematosus and, less frequently, mumps, measles, diptheria and others.
• Prenatal problems - infection or other illness affecting the developing brain of the fetus during pregnancy, labor or delivery.

All persons inherit varying degrees of susceptibility to seizures. The genetic factor is assumed to be greater when no specific cause can be identified.

MAJOR TREATMENTS

Despite available therapies, an estimated 50% of people do not achieve complete seizure control. New medications with fewer side-effects are desperately needed.

Diagnosis - There are more than 20 different types of seizure disorders. Convulsive seizures are easily recognized. But there are other less apparent forms of epilepsy marked by non-convulsive seizure types. These seizures affect awareness, produce loss of muscle control and may involve sensory distortions and other changes in behavior. Diagnosis is crucial. Children and adults with undiagnosed seizures risk developing a more severe, more difficult to treat epilepsy.

Medical Treatment - The major form of treatment is long-term antiepileptic drug therapy. Some 20 antiepileptic drugs are currently in use. While multi-drug therapy is necessary for some people, single-drug therapy is preferred when possible in order to reduce the side-effects of these medications.

Other treatment options include:

• Surgical - Surgical treatment is most often considered when the brain tissue causing seizures is confined to a small focal area of the brain which can be safely removed without damaging thinking or other vital functions.
• Dietary - A ketogenic diet (a very precisely prescribed high fat regime) has been successful in a number of childhood cases where standard treatment fails.
• Vagas Nerve Stimulation - An implantable surgical device used as an add-on therapy which has been shown to reduce some previously un-treatable partial seizures.

Education -

"It's not the seizures that hurt, it's people's reactions to my seizures that hurts."

Epilepsy can carry with it a host of psychological and social problems - misunderstanding and rejection by family and friends, inability to get a job, insecurity, anger, frustration - that for most victims are more difficult to handle that the actual seizure problem itself.

The Epilepsy Foundation of Southeast Wisconsin offers epilepsy education to individuals, families, schools, employers and community groups. Call us now at 414-271-0110.