Reader\'s Digest AU NZ 03.2020

Health

a brainillness,strokeortumour,
atleasttwoseizuresnotlinkedto
theseissuesaregenerallyrequired
foranepilepsydiagnosis.
Fiftymillionpeopleworldwide
haveepilepsy,makingit oneofthe
mostcommonneurologicaldiseases
globally.Itcanaffectanyone,
especiallywhenit runsinthefamily.
Childrenwillsometimesoutgrowit,
butforthosewhohaveseizuresinto
adulthood,therearetreatmentsand
medicationstoreduceitsimpact.
“Fortwo-thirdsofpeople
withepilepsy,theirseizureswill
becontrolledbymedication,”
saysDrSander,
explainingthat
therearemorethan
twodozendrugs
forepilepsy,with
neweroneshaving
fewersideeffects.
Forpatientswho
failtorespondto
treatment,andtheareaofthebrain
responsiblefortheseizurescan
beidentified,surgeryisanoption.
FunctionalMRIcanbeusedto
accuratelymapthebraininorder
toguidesafersurgery,hesays.
Seventypercentofthosewho
havesurgery,whichofteninvolves
removinga portionofthebrain’s
temporallobe,becomeseizure-free,
while 20 percentfindtheirseizures
arereduced;fortenpercent,thereis
noimprovement.
For those with severe epilepsy,

THERE

AREOVER 40

DIFFERENTTYPES

OF EPILEPTIC

SEIZURES

a vagusnervestimulatorimplant

mayhelp,saysDrSander.Like

a pacemakerthatregulatesthe

heart’srhythm,thisdevice,placed

intheneck,cansendmildpulsesof

electricitytopreventseizureswhen

theyarecomingon.

WhatDrSanderfindsmost

promising,though,istheuse

ofwholegenomesequencingin

treatingepilepsy.“Althoughthisis

stillinitsinfancy,wearebeginning

topinpointareasofourDNAthat

contributetoepilepsyandwhich

onesmaythenindicatea different

course of medication,particularly

forpeoplewith

someofthemost

severecases,”

hesays.

Thegoodnews

isthatmanyforms

ofepilepsyare

treatable,says

DrSander,andlots

ofpeoplewiththeconditionlead

normallives.Often,theycancontrol

theirepilepsythroughlifestyle

modifications,whetherthat’s

avoidingalcoholorminimising

triggerssuchasstressandsleep

deprivation.

Ifyouwitnessa convulsive

seizure,hesuggestsyou‘calm,

cushionandcall’– relaxtheperson

usinga gentlevoice,supporttheir

headwithyourhandsora pieceof

clothing,andphoneforhelpif the

seizure lasts more than five minutes.

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