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Living With Epilepsy
How Is Epilepsy Diagnosed?
Diagnose Epilepsy in Three Steps!
Epilepsy is a condition characterized by repeated seizures that may include
recurring muscle wrenching called convulsions. A seizure on the other hand is an
abrupt disorder of the normal brain activity accompanied by altered
consciousness and/or other behavioral and neurological manifestations. Seizure
is sometimes referred to as a “fit” or an “attack”. There are different types of
seizure. Epileptic seizures are all caused by interrupted signals, and so start
in the brain.
Every year, about 125,000 new cases of epilepsy are diagnosed. In the United
States alone, 1-2% of the population is affected by epilepsy. Although epilepsy
is common among children under age of 10 and adults over age of 60, 25% of all
cases have found to be developed by the age of 5.
There are no accurate tests that can really say if someone has epilepsy.
Diagnosing epilepsy can be very difficult and very critical in maintaining a
productive and healthy lifestyle. It can best be done through careful
observation and documentation of the symptoms accompanied by family and personal
medical history evaluation, proper neurological testing and thorough medical
examination. Much of diagnosis on epilepsy is based upon observing the patient
before, during and after a seizure.
An exact description of what happens to a person during his or her seizure is
important to avoid misdiagnosis that can cause the ailment to persist.
The following are guidelines that can help in obtaining an accurate description
of seizure:
1. Chronologically describe what happens to the patient.
2. Time the seizure whenever possible.
3. The patient or a family member should maintain a diary of seizure log
with information such as dates, time and descriptions of seizures. The
descriptions may also include answers to the questions listed below:
• What was the person doing and where is he/she located before the
seizure?
• Were there any warnings that the seizure was about to happen?
• Were there any mood changes- was the person anxious, excited, angry,
or quite?
• Did the person talk about any unusual sensations, such as an odd
taste or bad odor?
• What made you recognize the seizure? For example, did the person
fall? Was there noise; did the person’s head turn or eyes roll?
• Did he/she lose consciousness? Was he/she confused?
• Are there any changes in the color of the person’s face, lips or
hands?
• Did any of the body parts jerk, stiffen or twitch and if so which
parts?
• Did the breathing change, become noisy, or look difficult?
• Did he/she do anything unusual such as wander about, mumble, or
fiddle with his/her clothing?
• Did the person wet himself/herself?
• Did the person bite his/her cheek or tongue?
• How long did the seizure occur?
• What is the condition of the person after the seizure?
• Did the person want to sleep?
• How long was it before they acted normal?
• Other things noticeable?
Various methods being used by medical profession to diagnose epilepsy are as
follows:
1. EEG (electroencephalogram) monitoring, the commonly used method to
confirm suspicions epilepsy. It records the electrical activity of the brain.
Although EEG is widely used, it can yield inaccurate results and can also fail
to identify epilepsy.
2. CT (computerized tomography) is used to evaluate the cause and
location of epilepsy. It can conceal tumors, structural damage and scarred
tissue. This can also identify a reduction of seizure frequency. CT scan proves
to be useful however; it can only show pictures of the brain horizontally.
3. MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) - a method similar to CT scan, but
is more advance because it can possibly take pictures of the brain from almost
all angles. Another advantage is that there is no radiation involved in
producing an MRI scan.
It is important to keep in mind that those experiencing seizures do not
necessarily mean that they have epilepsy. Accurate diagnosis therefore must be
done to help the person and the physician. There are several conditions which
have been misdiagnosed as epilepsy including:
• Breath-holding spells, a cry or scream
• Febrile seizures which is common among children; this is induced by
a high temperature
• Transient ischemic attacks (TIA), short interruptions of blood flow
towards the brain
• Psychiatric disorders, panic attacks,
• Syncope - an abrupt loss of consciousness due to a sudden decrease
in blood flow to the brain
• Tics – sounds involving several groups of muscle
>>> Table of Contents
Epilepsy News:
MSN
Live Search: epilepsy site:msnbc.msn.com
Search results
FDA probes suicide link to epilepsy drugs - Mental health- msnbc.com
The Food and Drug Administration has begun a preliminary inquiry into whether epilepsy drugs might increase the risk of suicidal behavior in some patients.
Push to prevent epilepsy after brain injury - More health news- msnbc ...
Survivors of traumatic brain injuries ? from car-crash victims to soldiers wounded in Iraq ? face an extra hurdle as they recover: Thousands of them will develop epilepsy ...
Epilepsy patients advised to try newer treatments - More health news ...
The number of drugs approved to treat epilepsy has doubled in the past decade, offering long-needed alternatives to some patients. But too few doctors know how to best use the new ...
Epilepsy drug shown to reverse obesity in rats - Diet and nutrition ...
An epilepsy drug being tested for use in treating addiction can help obese rats shed weight, government researchers said on Wednesday.
FDA strengthens epilepsy drug warnings - Health care- msnbc.com
The FDA Wednesday strengthened warnings on certain drugs used to treat epilepsy, bipolar disorder and nerve pain.
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Google
epilepsy - Google News
epilepsy - Google News
Removing Part Of Brain Controls Girl's Epilepsy - Science Daily (press releas...
Removing Part Of Brain Controls Girl's Epilepsy
Science Daily (press release) - 6 hours ago
She has come a long way from the time when she was heavily medicated and lethargic, and has even become a spokesperson for the Epilepsy Foundation's ...
Cyberonics Reports Strong Sales Growth and Profitability in Fiscal ... - Mark...
Cyberonics Reports Strong Sales Growth and Profitability in Fiscal ...
MarketWatch - 22 hours ago
Net sales of $36.0 million, a 24% increase from $28.9 million, -- Net US product sales attributable to the epilepsy indication increased by an estimated 32% ...
Cyberonics Swings To Q2 Profit On Top Line Growth; Lifts FY09 ... RTT News
all 298 news articles
November Is National Epilepsy Awareness Month - Kansas City infoZine
November Is National Epilepsy Awareness Month
Kansas City infoZine, MO - 10 hours ago
Jefferson City, MO - infoZine - Missourians made more visits to emergency room hospitals for epilepsy in 2006 compared to 2000, and educating people about ...
U.Va.'s Dr. Jaideep Kapur Named Vice President of American ... - University o...
U.Va.'s Dr. Jaideep Kapur Named Vice President of American ...
University of Virginia, VA - 15 hours ago
Internationally recognized for his research in epilepsy, Kapur's laboratory is concerned with understanding the mechanisms underlying status epilepticus, ...
Gene Associated With Epilepsy Discovered - Science Daily (press release)
Gene Associated With Epilepsy Discovered
Science Daily (press release) - Nov 18, 2008
18, 2008) ? A University of Iowa-led international research team has found a new gene associated with the brain disorder epilepsy. While the PRICKLE1 gene ...
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Yahoo!
Yahoo! News Search Results for epilepsy
Yahoo! News Search Results for epilepsy
Removing Part Of Brain Controls Girl's Epilepsy (Science Daily)
Surgeons told Jessica Nelson one of the scariest things she will ever hear as a parent: they wanted to treat her daughter's epilepsy by cutting out or disconnecting half of her brain. Then something extraordinary happened: it worked.
International Team Finds Gene Associated With Epilepsy (Medical News Today)
A University of Iowa-led international research team has found a new gene associated with the brain disorder epilepsy. While the PRICKLE1 gene mutation was specific to a rare form of epilepsy, the study results could help lead to new ideas for overall epilepsy treatment. The findings, which involved nearly two dozen institutions from six different countries, appear in the Nov.
Epilepsy Foundation (KAMR Amarillo)
A local non-profit association has now become a national chapter. The High Plains Epilepsy Association has been in West Texas for over 30 years. They serve 79 counties in the panhandle. And today they are being named the newest chapter of the Epilepsy Foundation of America.
Discovery of new gene linked to epilepsy (News-Medical-Net)
A University of Iowa-led international research team has found a new gene associated with the brain disorder epilepsy.
November Is National Epilepsy Awareness Month (Kansas City InfoZine)
Condition is most often managed with prescription medications
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