Epilepsy: what are the risks?

Some diseases can be difficult to accept, especially when it is a disease that progresses to chronic. Epilepsy is one of the diseases that most concern the patient's fear of repeated seizures, falls, ... yet epilepsies occur in many forms and the risks are so different from one patient to another.

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder characterized by the occurrence of repeated crises related to abnormal nerve impulses in the brain. This anomaly generates electrical discharges produced by nerve cells in an area of the brain, causing a temporary dysfunction of the territory concerned. This is called seizures.

Epilepsy is a very common disease and can affect both women than men, although often it occurs more in children, adolescents and the elderly.

There are several types of seizures but they are not always seizures. Seizures can be characterized by absence or loss of knowledge with falls. The attacks are usually preceded by warning signs (aura) that vary from person to person (hallucinations, changes in vision, ...). We can also distinguish between partial seizures (which are mainly a region of the brain) generalized seizures (affecting the whole brain).

The causes of epilepsy are numerous and several factors can contribute to their appearance as genetic predisposition (in familial), malformations, stroke, head trauma, encephalitis, meningitis ... Seizures occurring in these contexts come in the context of symptomatic epilepsies.

Occasional crises are crises that arise in a particular context as hyperthermia, hypoglycemia, or metabolic disorders (hypocalcemia, hyponatremia, ...). Alcohol and drugs can also cause seizures.

The seizures are usually triggered by specific factors for each patient, and they appear when there is a decrease in the seizure threshold (a threshold beyond which the existence of certain factors can trigger a seizure). These factors may include fatigue, sleep disorders, stress, anxiety, bright lights, loud noises, ...

The impact of repeated attacks on social life are heavy. If for some, the disease progresses over several years to gradually decline, for others, it can persist for a very long time. Because of these differences in events, risk of seizures therefore vary depending on the form of attacks and severity of signs:

- Injuries, injuries from falls and unconsciousness

- The psychological impact and change the quality of life due to the existence of repeated and unexpected crises;

- Neurological effects during intense and protracted crises (especially for crises manifested by convulsions) lesions are mainly related to the duration of each crisis, the frequency and repetition of the crisis, the signs associated with seizures

- The risks associated with a possible pregnancy in women with epilepsy

Crises can be prevented by medication. Indeed, proper care can improve the life of the subject, both in the daily activities on the social and emotional life. Although crises are unpredictable and can not be prevented, it is advisable to adopt a healthy lifestyle and a balanced diet.