1. What kind of disease is epilepsy?
Epilepsy is a common disease, commonly known as “crohn’s disease”, with a prevalence rate of 7 per 1,000, and there are about 9 million patients in China. Epilepsy is a seizure disorder, a common disease caused by abnormal discharge of nerve cells in the brain, and can be treated with drugs and surgery.
2. What kind of symptoms does epilepsy exhibit?
Epilepsy can have a variety of manifestations.
(1) Tonic clonic seizure: It is manifested as sudden loss of consciousness, whole body muscle contraction, stiffening of trunk and limbs, and falling down. Due to the sudden contraction of respiratory muscles, there will be an unpleasant roar, followed by respiratory arrest, facial cyanosis, eyes open wide, eyes squinting upward, horrible expression, whole body leaning back, about 10 seconds later, the muscle tension of the limbs gradually decreases into the clonic phase, which is manifested by violent rhythmic flexion and contraction of the limbs, some followed by one, at which time the breathing action also begins to resume, which is the result of the large amount of saliva present in the mouth through The role of airflow inhalation and exhalation, the formation of foam, because it can not be swallowed and flow out of the mouth manifested as white foam.
(2) Aphasic seizures: usually called petit mal seizures, manifested as a brief interruption of consciousness, lasting 3-15 seconds and recovering naturally. The performance of the sudden call should not be, the eyes stare at immobility, special objects fall, “frozen”, can be accompanied by autonomous movements, afterwards the seizure can not be recalled.
(3) Tonic seizure: a sudden onset of rigid strong muscle contraction, loss of consciousness, trunk forward flexion, neck extension, eyes open or tightly closed, both shoulders up, both arms spread, elbows half bent, such posture can be maintained for a moment, sometimes fall, face from pale to flushed to blue.
(4) Myoclonic seizure: It is a rapid and powerful contraction of certain muscles or muscle groups, causing rapid electric shock-like jerking of the limbs, face and trunk, such as rapid head nodding, shoulder shrugging, torso leaning forward or backward, and the seizure can be manifested as a sudden forceful fall to the ground when standing or walking.
(5)Clonic seizure: It is a rhythmic and continuous jerking of the limbs or trunk, with loss of consciousness during the seizure, and the jerking frequency gradually decreases and finally stops.
(6) Atonic seizure: It is a sudden loss of muscle tone, unable to maintain the normal posture of the head, limbs and trunk, like a puppet with a broken string, and there can be a brief loss of consciousness.
(7) Partial seizure: manifested as twitching of a part of the body, or abnormal sensations, commonly twitching of fingers or the whole hand, corners of the mouth, or sudden pain, numbness, indescribable abnormal sensations, with clear consciousness during the seizure.
Some patients may exhibit hallucinations of hearing, vision, and smell, and may be accompanied by abnormal behavior. It can also manifest as sudden headache, dizziness, speech difficulties, etc.
In short, epilepsy can have a variety of manifestations, but they all have the characteristics of sudden onset, sudden cessation, recurrence and self-remission.
How many forms of seizures does a person with epilepsy have?
A person with epilepsy can have one or two types of seizures, or even multiple forms of seizures.
4. Can our child have epilepsy?
Generally not. If there are risk factors for epilepsy, such as having epilepsy in the family, history of head trauma, history of febrile convulsions, history of certain genetic metabolic diseases and history of certain severe intracranial infections, etc., epilepsy may occur.
The first thing you need to do is to have an epileptic head.
Cranial trauma is one of the common causes of epilepsy, and the more severe the trauma, the higher the incidence of epilepsy. The incidence of epilepsy is 20-50% for open cranial injuries, 0.5-5% for closed cranial injuries, and 5-10 times higher for dural penetrating injuries than for non-penetrating injuries. The time of occurrence of epilepsy in general trauma varies from 3% for immediate occurrence, 13% for a few hours to a month, and 84% for a month to several years.
6. How can epilepsy be diagnosed?
Based on the medical history, combined with abnormal EEG changes, and receiving appropriate blood biochemistry and cranial imaging tests to understand the cause.
7. What department should I go to if I have epilepsy?
It is best to go to an epilepsy specialist clinic in a large hospital.
What is the impact of epilepsy on the patient’s quality of life?
Some people investigate the adverse effects of epilepsy on patients: 60% of driving problems, 55% of unpredictability of seizures, 45% of learning difficulties, 40% of independence, 35% of social problems, health, work, 18% of marital or family problems, as well as emotional sadness and personality disorders, all seriously affect the quality of life of patients.
9. How often should I go to the hospital for checkups and what should I pay attention to during the visit?
If the seizures are well controlled, you can visit the hospital once every 3 to 6 months. You should bring your medical records, recent EEG data and imaging data, and know what medications you are taking. Patients with poorly controlled epilepsy should visit the hospital at any time.
10. Why can receiving frequent EEGs help diagnose epilepsy?
The electrophysiological basis of epilepsy itself is the abnormal discharge of brain cells. EEG is used to record the bioelectrical changes in the brain, which can record the EEG changes during the seizure period and interictal period of epilepsy patients more accurately, and is an important means and basis for epilepsy diagnosis and epilepsy classification. EEG is a non-invasive test that uses electrodes to record the weak electrical signals generated during brain activity, and does not affect the body in any way.
Can MRI help locate epileptic foci?
MRI is very important to help epilepsy patients find structural abnormalities in the brain, but the area of damage it finds is not equal to the epileptic focus, and brain electrophysiology and other tests are needed to determine whether the focus is responsible for epilepsy. The most commonly used magnetic resonance examinations for patients with epilepsy include magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), functional magnetic resonance (fMRI), and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS).
12. Is every antiepileptic drug effective for seizures?
No. Generally, antiepileptic drugs are only effective for certain seizure types. Choosing or adding antiepileptic drugs without analysis can aggravate seizures and increase the side effects of drugs. Therefore, you should consult an epilepsy specialist to choose the right medication.
13. Can seizures be completely controlled by taking medication? Can epilepsy be cured?
Most of the seizures can be controlled with antiepileptic drugs, but a small percentage of seizures are difficult to control with drugs, which is called refractory epilepsy. A small percentage of seizures are difficult to control with medications, called refractory epilepsy. In some cases, surgery may be considered for seizures that are difficult to control with medication.
14. When should I stop taking my medication?
There is no uniform time, depending on the seizure syndrome and the type of seizure, the time to stop the medication is not consistent. Generally speaking, the seizures are completely controlled for more than 2 years and the EEG is free of abnormalities before you can start to consider reducing the medication and finish it within 2 years.
15.What should I do if I have side effects while taking antiepileptic drugs?
All antiepileptic drugs have side effects, but the number and severity vary. Idiopathic side effects are sometimes very serious and need to be stopped.
16.What should family members do when having a seizure?
In case of seizures, the patient should be placed flat and the head should be tilted sideways to prevent vomit from being inhaled into the airway. In case of continuous seizures or frequent seizures, the patient should be taken to the hospital quickly.
What is the effect of surgery on epilepsy?
Surgery for epilepsy is only for those patients with drug-refractory epilepsy, but it may not always be indicated. You should consult an epilepsy specialist for a preoperative evaluation. The cure rate, efficiency, disability and mortality rates vary from patient to patient using different surgical procedures, with overall cure rates ranging from 60-80%, efficiency rates 71-95%, disability rates 5-17% and mortality rates 0-4%. The specific results may vary due to individual differences.