EPILEPSY

Epileptic seizures are disorders of the brain caused by an increased number of brief electrical discharges of nerve cells. There are more than thirty forms of epileptic seizures and even more forms of epilepsy because these can also involve combinations of several different types of seizures. Every person affected by epilepsy generally has only one form of epilepsy with one to three seizure types. The intervals between the individual seizures can vary from seconds to years or even decades.

The word epilepsy comes from the Greek and means “to be seized or clutched” or “to be afflicted with something or be captured by something”. In ancient times epilepsy was also referred to as “Morbus sacer” or “holy disease” which gave it special recognition that it sometimes still has today. Many people, if asked to describe an epileptic seizure, would likely describe it is something like this; Someone screams suddenly out of the blue, loses consciousness, then becomes stiff, possibly bites his tongue and collapses. He holds his breath and turns blue, has arm and leg spasms for a certain period of time, until out of exhaustion, he falls into a kind of deep sleep. Afterwards, he might complain of abnormal fatigue, headache, dizziness, or muscle aches. Sometimes it can progress to involuntary urination.

It is true that this description is apt for a frequent form of epileptic seizure (the so-called grand mal seizure or generalised tonic-clonic seizure), however this type of seizure is only one of many.