About the Causes of Epilepsy
Epilepsy is a condition that is often marked by seizures. It can have a profound effect on a person's life, causing him to have seizures at inconvenient times and leading him to alter his lifestyle to prepare for them. Some people must take anti-seizure medications for their entire lifetimes to keep epilepsy under control.
Identification
Epilepsy is a disorder that is marked by the disruption of electrical signals in a person's brain. It causes a wide range of symptoms, most notably seizures. However, some people with epilepsy may not have obvious seizures involving jerky movements at all. For some, an epileptic event may involve staring into space for a period of time, becoming temporarily confused, losing consciousness or even experiencing upheavals in emotions and behavior. Epilepsy affects people of all ages. However, most people initially develop it as children or as senior citizens.
Types
There are several different types of epilepsy. Scientists believe that most types are caused by problems with the genes that are responsible for controlling the way the cells of the brain transmit messages to each other. However, only some rare types of epilepsy have been linked to particular defects involving specific genes. For the most part, most types of epilepsy have not been linked to one specific genetic defect, and there are hundreds of genes that may be linked to its development.
Theories/Speculation
Though epilepsy runs in families, scientists believe genes are only partially responsible for its development. For example, it is thought that a genetic predisposition to epilepsy may simply make a person more likely to be affected by certain things in the environment that can cause seizures. For example, some seizure triggers include lack of adequate sleep and excessive drinking of alcoholic beverages.
Prevention/Solution
Sometimes the development of epileptic disorders can be linked to a specific event rather than a genetic defect. For example, some people who have been in serious accidents go on to develop epilepsy. Head injuries may lead to the condition, which provides one good reason to wear a seat belt in a car and a helmet while bicycling. Usually, accidents that lead to epilepsy are those that leave the person deprived of oxygen for a time or damage the brain in some way.
Considerations
A person may also develop epilepsy following a disease or serious medical event. For example, it is possible to develop seizures after a stroke. Also, a person may develop epilepsy because of a tumor in the brain. However, this cause is rare. For many people, the cause of epilepsy is not known.
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