Epilepsy
The Palm Beach Health Network provides comprehensive patient care and technology for adults suffering from seizures and epilepsy. The personalized evaluation process includes the assessment of patient’s medical history and medication intake, imaging of the brain and neurodiagnostic exams. With this in-depth evaluation, the team is able to create individualized treatment plans.
What is Epilepsy?
Epilepsy is brain disorder that can cause temporary confusion, staring spells, uncontrollable jerking motions of the arms and legs, and unconsciousness.
Epilepsy is a neurological condition that makes you more susceptible to having recurrent, unprovoked seizures. It’s one of the most common disorders of the nervous system and affects people of all ages, races, and ethnic backgrounds.
About half of epilepsy cases occur for no known reason. However, it can be caused by genetic factors, head trauma, certain medical disorders like a stroke, dementia, prenatal injury, and developmental disorders such as autism or Down syndrome.
What are the symptoms of a seizure?
The signs and symptoms of a seizure can vary from staring into space to full-body spasm. These are some of the most common symptoms of seizure:
- Staring
- Jerking movements of the arms and legs
- Stiffening of the body
- Loss of consciousness
- Breathing problems or breathing stops
- Loss of bowel or bladder control
- Falling suddenly for no apparent reason, especially when associated with loss of consciousness
- Not responding to noise or words for brief periods
- Appearing confused or in a haze
- Nodding the head rhythmically, when associated with loss of awareness or even loss of consciousness
- Periods of rapid eye blinking and staring
Types of Seizures:
- Focal or partial seizures originate in one part of the brain. Simple focal seizures do not cause loss of consciousness, but may affect sensory perceptions and result in involuntary jerking of part of the body.
- Complex focal seizures change consciousness or awareness, and may result in non-purposeful movements, such as walking in circles or staring.
- Generalized seizures appear to involve the whole brain, including:
- Absence seizures, also called petit mal, which cause subtle body movements and brief loss of awareness
- Tonic seizures that result in muscles stiffening
- Clonic seizures associated with recurring, twitching muscle contractions
- Myoclonic seizures that appear as sudden, jerking movements in the arms and legs
- Atonic seizures that cause loss of normal muscle tone
- Tonic-clonic seizures, also called grand mal, which are intense episodes of body stiffening, shaking, loss of consciousness, and occasional loss of bladder control or tongue biting
Diagnosing Epilepsy
In order to best treat a patient who has experienced two or more seizures, it is important to identify the cause. Through an in-depth diagnostic process, the team at Palm Beach Health Network can order an appropriate treatment plan for epileptic patients.
Epilepsy monitoring
If you suspect you might be dealing with epilepsy, you are not alone. In fact, you are in the company of 2.4 million other adults and children, along with another 150,000 who are newly diagnosed each year.
In addition to offering diagnostics and electroencephalograms (EEGs), we are the first in Palm Beach County to have a dedicated Epilepsy Monitoring Unit (EMU) – at Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center - for patients in need of further assessment. The unit employs skilled technologists and a core nursing staff committed to providing the best possible inpatient monitoring experience.
Our EMU is equipped with Long-Term Video Monitoring, a specialized form of an EEG in which the patient is continuously monitored on video while brainwave activity is recorded. It allows physicians to:
- Identify the onset triggers for seizures
- Differentiate epileptic events from psychogenic seizures
- Establish the specific type of epilepsy
The video captured with this testing can be used to detect epileptic activity not detectable in routine EEGs and can be critical for the diagnosis of epilepsy.
Medical History
We begin with a thorough medical history that includes:
- Age of onset
- Risk factors
- Description of seizures
- Duration
- Triggers
- Physical Exam
The physician will complete a comprehensive neurological examination.
Testing
Diagnosing epilepsy may include brain imaging, blood work, and electroencephalogram (EEG). EEG’s are conducted by putting electrodes on the patient’s scalp to record brain wave activity. We conduct EEG-video monitoring tests, which are considered the gold standard in epileptic diagnostics. These tests are effective because they allow our Neurologists to simultaneously examine brain wave activity and clinical findings.
Depending on seizure frequency, patients may be required to stay in the hospital for several nights. Our team may use various measures to study a patient’s reaction to certain stimuli. Other imaging tests that may be used are Computerized tomography (CT) or Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans that help our team determine if there are any lesions in the brain that may be causing the seizures.
Treating Epilepsy
Once a diagnosis is made, our team will put together a treatment plan to help prevent further seizures and provide patients a better quality of life.
Treatment options may include the following:
- Medication: When epilepsy is diagnosed, patients are put on anti-seizure medication. Our team works to find the most effective medication with the fewest side effects for each individual patient.
- Surgery: If seizure medication is not effective, surgery may be an option. Our team will determine if the affected area(s) of the brain may be treated surgically. This may include the use of implantable devices that will help with seizure control.
