Epilepsy

EPILEPSY

Seizures and epilepsy

Some A seizure (from the Latin sacire, "to take possession of") is a paroxysmal event due to abnormal, excessive, hypersynchronous discharges from an aggregate of central nervous system (CNS) neurons. Depending on the distribution of discharges, this abnormal CNS activity can have various manifestations, ranging from dramatic convulsive activity to experiential phenomena not readily discernible by an observer. Although a variety of factors influence the incidence and prevalence of seizures, approximately 5 to 10% of the population will have at least one seizure during their lifetime, with the highest incidence occurring in early childhood and late adulthood. Because seizures are common, this clinical problem is encountered frequently during medical practice in a variety of settings.

The meaning of the term seizure needs to be carefully distinguished from that of epilepsy. Epilepsy describes a condition in which a person has recurrent seizures due to a chronic, underlying process. This definition implies that a person with a single seizure, or recurrent seizures due to correctable or avoidable circumstances, does not necessarily have epilepsy. Epilepsy refers to a clinical phenomenon rather than a single disease entity, since there are many forms and causes of epilepsy. However, among the many causes of epilepsy there are various epilepsy syndromes in which the clinical and pathologic characteristics are distinctive and suggest a specific underlying etiology.

Using the definition of epilepsy as two or more unprovoked seizures, the incidence of epilepsy is approximately 0.3 to 0.5% in different populations throughout the world, and the prevalence of epilepsy has been estimated at 5 to 10 persons per 1000.

[PakMed Homepage] [Disclaimer/Privacy Policy] [Contact]

© Copyrights PakMed Biomedical Solutions

Optimized for Java-script enabled Microsoft Internet Explorer 6, at screen resolution of 800 by 600 pixels.