Allie+S+Epilepsy

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Alli Stendler Sci-2 May 8, 2010

Ripple Effect

“A stone tossed into a calm pond creates a small splash that grows to many expanding ripples. The same type of effect is caused by the brain disorder known as epilepsy” (McGowen 2). Epilepsy has been around for a long time and there are a variety of different forms of it. A lot of things can cause epilepsy and trigger seizures, but common treatments can reduce and prevent them. The brain sends out electrical signals that tell the body what to do. When a seizure occurs, the brain sends too many electrical currents out causing one of many types of seizures. The overdriven currents can make the epileptic person lose control over movement, thought, awareness, or even all three. The person is left confused and dumbstruck. Like cancer, there are numerous types of epilepsy. Symptomatic epilepsy means that, that case of epilepsy is caused by another thing like a brain injury. Idiopathic epilepsy means that there is no symptoms or thing that doctors are aware of that could be causing it. Focal epilepsy, another form of epilepsy, occurs when seizures start in one part of the body and spread to the rest, but the victim will not lose consciousness. Sometimes people become angry or violent, laugh for no apparent reason or make peculiar chewing motions and that person may have temporal lobe epilepsy. Petit Mal, the mildest form of epilepsy, also the most common, is another type of epilepsy. The seizures are blank stares, or absences. Nothing a little anti-seizure drug cannot fix! The most dangerous type of seizures can be fatal. Grand Mal or Tonic Clonic seizures are too intense and the jerking movement can possibly cause the victim to lose consciousness. The harsh movement of the seizures is not what causes death though. If too many electrical currents are sent out and they continue without stopping, it could deprive the brain of oxygen causing immense brain damage or possibly death. There are all different kinds of epilepsy and some may be worse than others but there are causes and treatments for all of them. If a mother that is on illegal drugs or drinking alcohol while a child is in the womb, it could be very dangerous to the baby. The outcome could be epilepsy. Hallucinations, blackouts, serious illnesses such as meningitis, and illegal drug intake could also be a reason for epilepsy. The most common cause is head injuries or injuries to the brain like a car crash or a hard hit on the head. When neurologists diagnose epilepsy they run an electroencephalogram, or EEG, which measures electrical activity in the brain. Too much electrical activity found in the brain may result in epilepsy. Some different activities or objects might trigger the symptoms. Triggers are different for every person but the most common triggers are bright or flashing lights, lack of sleep, or //stress//. Too much homework or too many activities in a day can be a major trigger for seizures. One or more high fevers and medications that the patient is on can also have an effect and trigger seizures. Although there is no cure for epilepsy, there are two common treatments. They make seizures less common and easier to predict. The most common treatment is anti-seizure drugs. These drugs are commonly used to prevent or reduce seizures. They can come in the form of a dissolving tablet, a capsule, or a liquid remedy. Another way to treat epilepsy is brain surgery. Unfortunately, brain surgery is very expensive, therefore it is only used when seizures become extremely violent and frequently. A person sits in the operating room, waiting for their head to get cut open for brain surgery. They are trying to reduce or even cure their epilepsy. The surgeon walks in, numbs the head and skull area, and starts cutting into it! He forgot to put them to ”sleep”! He did not forget though, he wants them to be up while he is working on the brain so they can tell him which part feels sensitive. In some cases, parts of the brain will need to be removed. Even though anti-seizure drugs and brain surgery are the most common treatments, a new one still is being developed called Vagus Nerve Stimulation. Just like a pacemaker designed to regulate the heart’s beating, the stimulator is implanted under the skin. When a seizure is approaching, the stimulator sends signals through the vagus nerve in your neck to stop or weaken the moving seizures. However, Vagus Nerve Stimulation is generally only used when anti-seizure drugs do not take effect. As new treatments become available, more people are able to control their type of epilepsy.  Although the jerking and twitching might stop, you can never know when a seizure will happen. Many different types of epilepsy still remain a part of more than 50 million peoples lives’ in the world. Hopefully with new treatments we can stop epilepsy from “rippling” out and be able to control seizures. With so many people waiting for answers the only question is: when?