General Nursing©

What You Should Know About Epilepsy?

1. Infections: Infections of the nervous system may result in a lowered seizure threshold. These may include meningitis (infections of the coverings of the brain and spinal fluid), encephalitis (infection of the brain itself), and HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), and related infections.
   
2. Tumors and space-occupying lesions: Brain tumors, both malignant (cancerous) and benign, may be associated with seizures. The anatomic location of the abnormality influences the likelihood of having seizures.
3. Degenerative disorders: There are many neurodegenerative disorders that are accompanied by seizures. These include tuberous sclerosis, neurofibromatosis, Tay-Sachs disease, phenylketonuria (PKU), and Sturge-Weber syndrome.
4. Brain damage in infancy: Cerebral palsy secondary to lack of oxygen, infection, or trauma is associated with epilepsy.
5. Febrile seizures: These are an age-associated form of epilepsy that may present as a single seizure or may be recurring. They are associated with a high fever in children three months to four years of age and occur in three to four percent of children.

Disorders That Mimic Seizure Disorders

True seizure disorders must be differentiated from a variety of problems whose symptoms approximate or closely resemble those of epilepsy. These include cerebrovascular (stroke-related) disorders, migraine, narcolepsy, syncope (fainting), and anxiety and other psychiatric disorders. Another type of spell well known to physicians is the so-called pseudoseizure, or more properly nonepileptogenic seizure. These spells are not triggered by nerve cell discharges that cause true epilepsy, although the patient may experience muscle twitching and even apparent loss of consciousness. These spells have a psychiatric component and often coexist in persons who have true epilepsy. EEG monitoring can help distinguish disorders that mimic epilepsy from true seizures.

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