- Starts in one area in the brain and can cause a variety of symptoms or body manifestations depending which brain area is involved.
Epilepsy / Seizure Disorder
Epilepsy / Seizure Disorder
Epilepsy is a chronic brain disorder that manifests with seizures. It is the fourth most common neurological disorder. The causes of epilepsy are numerous and include stroke, brain tumor, head injury, genetic disorders, brain infection or other neurologic conditions. For a subset of individuals with epilepsy, no clear cause can be determined.
Seizures are the result of abnormal electrical activity of brain cells that can lead to loss of awareness with or without associated involuntary movements. People are diagnosed with epilepsy when they experience two or more unprovoked seizures (or one unprovoked seizure with the high likelihood of more) that are unrelated to other reversible medical problems, such as high fever, alcohol withdrawal or very low blood sugar.
Seizures can be divided into two main categories depending on how they start in the brain: generalized and focal seizures.
- Affects both sides of the brain and cause a person to have facial contractions, rapid blinking and muscle stiffness with limb jerks.
About 3 million people in the United States have epilepsy, according to the Centers for Disease and Control Prevention, and 1 in 26 people in the United States will develop epilepsy at one point in his or her life.
ARH offers comprehensive epilepsy treatment to reduce or eliminate seizures. Although medications control seizures in many people with epilepsy, you may require more advanced care if your seizures remain uncontrolled,
Advanced imaging such as MRI may be ordered in addition to monitoring of brain activity through a test called EEG.
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