Should I say I was opportuned or i was unfortunate to be at the supermarket today. It was a bitter sight to behold but then it gave me the opportunity to do some findings. While at the supermarket, a richly dressed woman slumped to the ground and started convulsing. She was also twitching both her arms and her legs. Immediately, i knew those were the symptoms of epilepsy but then I did not know what the cause was. I asked somebody around on the cause of epilepsy and then I was given an unsatisfactory answer. I was told that epilepsy was caused by lizard's spit on the human body. This sounded so supersticious to me and so out of my curiosity, I was able to go gather some more knowledge about epilepsy.
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Did you know that the human brain functions by transmitting electrical signals through neurons, which are called the nerve cells?
Did you know that a seizure is been experienced when there is a sudden increment in the rate of electrical signal in the brain?
Did you know that epilepsy is caused by a partial seizure in the brain?
I also did not know about all these until i made research.
WHAT IS EPILEPSY
Epilepsy is a central nervous system neurological disorder in which the brain activity becomes abnormal causing seizures or periods of unusual behaviour, sensations and sometimes loss of awareness.
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There are several other neurological diseases but according to research, epilepsy covers about 1℅ of the earth's population thereby making it one of the most common neurological diseases. Epilepsy does not have one particular set of individual that it affects because both the male and female counterparts, are prone to having this deadly brain disorder. In other words, it affects all races, different ethnic backgrounds and also any age range.
The disease epilepsy is not just a one way traffic kind of disease that comes through just one form. For example, malaria is gotten from mosquito bite. Epilepsy comes in different forms, each of these forms comes with different causes, symptoms and treatments.
What Are the Causes of Epilepsy?
Just like a movement can never be made except a force is been introduced to it, so also is the human brain. The human brain remains at a stable state except it is been disrupted. As earlier mentioned, Epilepsy occurs when there is a faulty electrical activity in the brain.
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According to research, half the population of the individuals suffering from epilepsy has no identifiable cause. The other half of the population may be traced to various factors including;
INHERITED GENETIC FACTORS: Some types of epilepsy are caused by traits that runs in the family. Theses traits are been passed from one generation to the other. Most times, they are been triggered by environmental conditions which causes the seizures.
HEAD TRAUMA: It generates as a result of an head injury. It is caused by any sort of injury to the brain. This is usually associated with accidents like motor accident, falls, physical assaults e.t.c
TREATMENT OF EPILEPSY
Most epileptic seizures are controlled through drug therapy, particularly anticonvulsant drugs. The form of treatment prescribed will depend on several factors including the frequency and severity of the seizures as well as the person's age, overall health, and medical history. An accurate diagnosis of the type of epilepsy is also critical to choosing the best treatment.
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list of drugs used for epilepsy treatment
Drugs to treat epilepsy include:
- Felbatol
- Gabitril
- Keppra
- Lamictal
- Lyrica
Further readings
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/epilepsy/symptoms-causes/syc-20350093
http://www.uchospitals.edu/specialties/neurosciences/epilepsy/causes/
https://www.medicinenet.com/epilepsy_treatment/article.htm#what_are_the_treatments_for_epilepsy