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The Different Kinds of Seizures and What is Epilepsy
Society's lack of understanding about the many different types of seizures is one of the biggest problems for people with epilepsy. People who witness a non-convulsive seizure often find it difficult to understand that behavior which looks deliberate is not under the person's control. In some cases, this has led to the affected person being arrested, sued, or placed in a mental institution. To combat these problems, people everywhere need to understand the many different types of seizures and how they may appear and those with this condition should carry their medical information with them so that if seizure occurs, the people around them will know that this person has a medical condition that is not under the person's control. Seizures are divided into two major categories - Partial Seizures and Generalized Seizures. However, there are many different types of seizures within each of these categories.
Partial Seizures
About 60 percent of people with epilepsy have partial seizures and the symptoms of partial seizures can easily be confused with other disorders. For instance, the dreamlike perceptions associated with a complex partial seizure may be misdiagnosed as migraine headaches, which also can cause a dreamlike state. The strange behavior and sensations caused by partial seizures also can be mistaken for symptoms of narcolepsy, fainting, or even mental illness. It may take many tests and careful monitoring by a knowledgeable physician to tell the difference between epilepsy and other disorders. In a simple partial seizure, the person will remain conscious but may experience unusual feelings or sensations that can take many forms. The person may experience sudden and unexplainable feelings of joy, anger, sadness, or nausea. He or she also may hear, smell, taste, see, or feel things that are not real. In a complex partial seizure, the person has a change in or loss of consciousness. His or her consciousness may be altered, producing a dreamlike experience. People having a complex partial seizure may display strange, repetitious behaviors such as blinks, twitches, mouth movements, or even walking in a circle. These repetitious movements are called automatisms. They also may fling objects across the room or strike out at walls or furniture as though they are angry or afraid. These seizures usually last just a few seconds. Some people with partial seizures, especially complex partial seizures, may experience auras - unusual sensations that warn of an impending seizure. These auras are actually simple partial seizures in which the person maintains consciousness.
Generalized Seizures
Generalized seizures may cause loss of consciousness, falls, or massive muscle spasms and there are many kinds of generalized seizures. In absence seizures, the person may appear to be staring into space and/or have jerking or twitching muscles. These seizures are sometimes referred to as petit mal seizures, which is an older term. Tonic seizures cause stiffening of muscles of the body, generally those in the back, legs, and arms. Clonic seizures cause repeated jerking movements of muscles on both sides of the body. Myoclonic seizures cause jerks or twitches of the upper body, arms, or legs. Atonic seizures cause a loss of normal muscle tone. The affected person will fall down or may nod his or her head involuntarily. Tonic-clonic seizures cause a mixture of symptoms, including stiffening of the body and repeated jerks of the arms and/or legs as well as loss of consciousness. Tonic-clonic seizures are sometimes referred to by an older term: grand mal seizures. Not all seizures can be easily defined as either partial or generalized. Some people have seizures that begin as partial seizures but then spread to the entire brain. Other people may have both types of seizures but with no clear pattern.
What Is Epilepsy
More than 2 million people in the United States - about 1 in 100 - have experienced an unprovoked seizure or been diagnosed with epilepsy. For about 80 percent of those diagnosed with epilepsy, seizures can be controlled with modern medicines and surgical techniques. However, about 20 percent of people with epilepsy will continue to experience seizures even with the best available treatment. Doctors call this situation intractable epilepsy.
Having a seizure does not necessarily mean that a person has epilepsy. Only when a person has had two or more seizures is he or she considered to have epilepsy. Epilepsy is not contagious and is not caused by mental illness or mental retardation. Some people with mental retardation may experience seizures, but seizures do not necessarily mean the person has or will develop mental impairment. Many people with epilepsy have normal or above-average intelligence. Famous people who are known or rumored to have had epilepsy include the Russian writer Dostoyevsky, the philosopher Socrates, the military general Napoleon, and the inventor of dynamite, Alfred Nobel, who established the Nobel prize. Several Olympic medalists and other athletes also have had epilepsy. Seizures sometimes do cause brain damage, particularly if they are severe. However, most seizures do not seem to have a detrimental effect on the brain. Any changes that do occur are usually subtle, and it is often unclear whether these changes are caused by the seizures themselves or by the underlying problem that caused the seizures. While epilepsy cannot currently be cured, for some people it does eventually go away. One study found that children with idiopathic epilepsy, or epilepsy with an unknown cause, had a 68 to 92 percent chance of becoming seizure-free by 20 years after their diagnosis. The odds of becoming seizure-free are not as good for adults, or for children with severe epilepsy syndromes, but it is nonetheless possible that seizures may decrease or even stop over time. This is more likely if the epilepsy has been well-controlled by medication or if the person has had epilepsy surgery.
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