Forms of epilepsy
Content:
- Idiopathic epilepsy
- Focal epilepsy
- Temporal lobe epilepsy
- Partial epilepsy
- Jacksonian epilepsy
- Juvenile myoclonic epilepsy
Epilepsy is a very common and well-studied disease, so in many cases, specialists can help to get rid of it completely. Turning to statistics, it can be noted that currently about 1% of all inhabitants of our planet suffer from this disease. As a result of various studies and observations, medicine has identified several forms of epilepsy, which differ in both the reasons for the development of the disease and seizures, and in the location of its focus in the brain. In this article, we invite you to familiarize yourself with the symptoms, causes and treatment methods of some of the most common types of the disease.
Idiopathic epilepsy
This form of the disease does not develop due to organic damage to the human brain. Idiopathic epilepsy occurs as a result of changes in the work performed by neurons as they become more active and their level of excitability increases.
The main reasons a person can develop idiopathic epilepsy are:
- Hereditary predisposition
- Diseases of the nervous system
- Congenital brain abnormalities
- Alcohol or drug poisoning
One type of idiopathic epilepsy is the so-called rolandic epilepsy. It occurs in children and adolescents between the ages of three and thirteen. This ailment got its name due to the localization of its focus - it is located in the Roland groove of the cerebral cortex.
When a seizure occurs in Rolandic epilepsy, cramps occur in the muscles of the face and throat. Twitching of one of the limbs can sometimes occur.
The main symptoms of idiopathic rolandic epilepsy are as follows:
- Numbness and tingling in the area of the tongue, lips
- Cramps in one arm or leg
- Difficulty speaking
- Excretion of saliva in large quantities
- Memory impairment after an attack
- Attacks occur more often at night
This form of epilepsy is benign and resolves on its own by about sixteen years of age. In most cases, no treatment is required.
Idiopathic epilepsy is a type of focal epilepsy.
Focal epilepsy
A form of epilepsy called focal epilepsy makes itself felt in childhood.
The reasons for the development of focal epilepsy can be different.
- Concussion, severe blow to the head area
- Organ diseases
- Viral infections
- Inflammation of brain tissue
- Injury at birth
- High blood pressure
- Cervical osteochondrosis
Symptoms of focal epilepsy depend on where the lesion is located in the brain.
During an attack, the patient may experience clouding of consciousness, obsessions, even hallucinations. If an attack occurs in a child, then he may be tormented by vomiting, he sweats a lot and cries all the time. If the patient has only one side of the brain, involuntary rotation of the whites of the eyes, twitching of fingers, cramps of the upper extremities can be observed.
In the treatment of focal epilepsy, medications and various procedures are used, with the exception of surgery. Also, with this disease, it is necessary to lead a healthy lifestyle, special attention should be paid to the quality of nutrition. It is recommended to eat more often foods that help restore brain function. These are mainly proteins - chicken meat, nuts, sea fish, etc. It will be very helpful to stop drinking coffee and alcohol.
Temporal lobe epilepsy
In most cases, the main cause of this form of epilepsy is damage to the temporal lobe from injuries sustained during childbirth. But there may be other reasons as well. For example, it is not uncommon for this disease to develop in people who have suffered craniocerebral trauma, such as infections such as brucellosis, tick-borne encephalitis, purulent meningitis, and others. In addition, many people who have had a stroke, both hemorrhagic and ischemic, suffer from temporal lobe epilepsy.
When a patient has an attack, he may feel pain in the abdomen, he may feel sick, and often there are pains in the heart area, shortness of breath. Changes in consciousness are observed - panic attacks, hysteria, a person loses orientation in space. He can perform actions that do not make sense at the moment - for example, take off his clothes, take various objects in his hands and put them in another place, etc. Vision is impaired, the patient does not perceive smells well.
Temporal epilepsy is dangerous because it progresses all the time. Over time, patients with this form of the disease develop autonomic disorders, between attacks there is increased sweating, problems in the endocrine system, and allergies.
The diagnosis of temporal lobe epilepsy is performed based on the indications of MRI, PET, polysomnography. Naturally, first of all, the patient's complaints, his neurological status are taken into account.
How temporal lobe epilepsy is treated depends on the underlying cause of the disease. For example, if the disease is caused by an infection, then the patient is prescribed drugs that relieve inflammation, and if the cause of the disease lies in the presence of tumors in the brain, then the patient is sent for surgery. But whatever the reason for the development of temporal lobe epilepsy, the patient is still shown anticonvulsant treatment.
Prevention of this form of the disease consists in the timely treatment of various pathologies of the brain, prevention of infections of the nervous system, prevention of birth trauma to the head.
Partial epilepsy
Partial epilepsy is a chronic disease that develops due to damage to nerve cells, as well as due to their high activity in one part of the brain.
This form of epilepsy is divided into several subtypes:
- Frontal
- Temporal
- Parietal
- Occipital
- Multifocal
Multifocal form of partial epilepsy is when several parts of the brain are affected at once.
There are three types of seizures with partial epilepsy:
- Simple (when there is no disturbance of consciousness)
- Complex (when there are impairments of consciousness)
- Secondary generalization (when the whole body of the patient is involved in the process)
When it comes to the symptoms of this form of epilepsy, the place of localization of the focus in one of the parts of the brain must be taken into account. For example, if the frontal lobe is affected, seizures in most cases occur at night, their duration is between 30 and 60 seconds. There may be cramps in the upper or lower extremities, the patient begins to blink frequently, turn his head, rotate the whites of his eyes, his face turns red, and his speech becomes intermittent.
In the case of damage to the brain in the temple area, the patient has complex attacks when he loses consciousness or freezes with his eyes wide open.
The parietal form of partial epilepsy makes itself felt through tingling or burning sensation, numbness of the arms or legs, pain in different parts of the body.
With occipital epilepsy, the patient's vision is impaired, visual hallucinations, involuntary head turns can be observed.
This form of the disease is diagnosed with the help of a comprehensive examination by a neurologist, as well as the passage of the patient by electroencephalography, MRI, computed tomography, and a study of the fundus is also carried out. Often, people who are suspected of having partial epilepsy are referred to a psychiatrist for consultation.
This form of epilepsy is treated with medication, mainly anticonvulsants are prescribed. If this method of treatment does not give positive results, then the patient is sent to the neurosurgery department, where he undergoes appropriate treatment.
Prevention of epilepsy is, first of all, in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. In order to prevent seizures, it is necessary to quit smoking, stop drinking alcoholic beverages, including those related to the lungs. In addition, you need to reduce the consumption of tea and coffee, especially strong coffee. It is not recommended to eat before bedtime, to climb to a height. Doctors advise patients with partial epilepsy to walk more often in the fresh air and consume fermented milk products.
Jacksonian epilepsy
This form of epilepsy differs in that seizures in patients occur specifically - on one or another (but only one) part of the body. This disease got its name thanks to a scientist, a neuropathologist from England by the name of Jackson - it was he who discovered this form of epilepsy.
A feature of Jacksonian epilepsy is the fact that seizures occur with patients in full consciousness. The attack originates in one of the limbs and spreads further, but only along the same side of the body, without passing to the other. Most often, it all starts with the fingers, then the attack reaches the shoulder, affects the face, and spreads to the leg. The attack passes in the reverse order.
The reasons why a person most often can develop Jacksonian epilepsy are as follows:
- Head trauma and, as a result, brain damage
- Vascular brain abnormalities
- Tumors of the brain
- Encephalitis
Treatment of Jacksonian epilepsy is carried out with medication, with the use of anticonvulsants. But if drug therapy does not give any result, then they resort to surgical intervention.
Juvenile myoclonic epilepsy
This form is one of the most common. It is also often called Janz's syndrome, as well as myoclonus epilepsy. Most often it develops between the ages of 8 and 26, but the first signs in most cases are observed between the ages of 12 and 16, mainly in boys. There are cases when myoclonic epilepsy developed in infants.
The reasons for the development of myoclonic epilepsy:
- Brain damage from head trauma
- Damage to the baby's brain during pregnancy
- Hereditary predisposition
- Infections
- Neoplasms in the brain
- Impaired blood circulation in the brain
Often, doctors fail to establish the real cause of the disease. This applies to some special cases in medical practice.
The main symptom indicating the presence of a disease such as myoclonic epilepsy in a person is an epileptic seizure.
Seizures in those suffering from this ailment can be of three types:
- Myoclonic: characterized by sudden, sudden twitching of muscles, limbs, face, or the entire body. This often happens immediately after waking up, sometimes during the morning meal. If the patient gets very tired during the day, then he may have an attack in the evening.
- Tonic-clonic: they occur in 60 percent of patients with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy. They are in the first hours after waking up. Most often they occur due to the fact that the patient went to bed too late or woke up too early.
- Absences: occur in one third or even half of patients with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy. During such attacks, a person loses consciousness for about half a minute. As a rule, there are no seizures. Most often absences happen in the morning, but, in principle, they happen at any other time of the day.
An attack in juvenile myoclonic epilepsy can occur after drinking.
Treatment of this form of a disease of the nervous system is carried out by means of antiepileptic drugs. Due to them, it is possible to reduce the duration and number of seizures, and in some cases completely get rid of them. In order to achieve a positive result, it is necessary to take medications regularly and for a long time. Patients often have to take medications for life.
Author of the article: Sokov Andrey Vladimirovich | Neurologist
Education: In 2005 completed an internship at the IM Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University and received a diploma in Neurology. In 2009, completed postgraduate studies in the specialty "Nervous diseases".
