Wednesday, March 30, 2011

The Causes of an Epilepsy Seizure
MC Kelby March 29, 2011 - 6:15pm

According to the Epilepsy Foundation, more than three million Americans are affected by epilepsy and more than ten percent of Americans will experience a seizure during their lifetime. Also, more than 200,000 new cases of epilepsy are diagnosed each year. A person is only diagnosed with epilepsy if they have two or more seizures. Epileptic seizures occur when the brain’s electrical system malfunctions. Also, during a seizure neurons fire faster than normal. They can fire as high as 500 times per second. This surge of energy runs through the brain and can cause the individual to lose consciousness, lose bladder control, shake or convulse, drool or cry out. In people diagnosed with epilepsy, this can happen rarely or hundreds of times per day. Seizures may last only one or two minutes. However, the confusion after a seizure may last a few minutes longer. If an epileptic seizure is severe, the seizure can cause brain damage. For those diagnosed with epilepsy, 80 percent of epileptic seizures can be controlled with surgery and medications. Read the rest of the article here.

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