What causes epilepsy in older adults?

Although children or older adults are more susceptible, anyone can develop epilepsy. When epilepsy is diagnosed in older adults, it’s sometimes from another neurological issue, like a stroke or a brain tumor. Other causes can be related to genetic abnormalities, prior brain infection, prenatal injuries or developmental disorders.

What increases my risk for epilepsy?

Infections such as meningitis, which causes inflammation in your brain or spinal cord, can increase your risk. Seizures in childhood. High fevers in childhood can sometimes be associated with seizures. Children who have seizures due to high fevers generally won’t develop epilepsy.

Who is affected by epilepsy?

Anyone can develop epilepsy. Epilepsy affects both males and females of all races, ethnic backgrounds and ages. Seizure symptoms can vary widely. Some people with epilepsy simply stare blankly for a few seconds during a seizure, while others repeatedly twitch their arms or legs.

What are the causes of epilepsy in children?

Less common causes of childhood epilepsy include brain tumors or cysts and degenerative disorders (progressive and deteriorating conditions, often associated with loss of brain cells).

What are the risk factors for seizures in children?

When you know what to look for, you have a better chance of exposing your child to an increased risk of seizure. 1. Illness and Fever A seizure is a disruption of the electrical signals in a child’s brain. Any illness that can affect the functioning of the brain could bring on a seizure. 2. Sleep Deprivation

What causes seizures in the brain?

Anything that interrupts the normal connections between nerve cells in the brain can cause a seizure. This includes a high fever, high or low blood sugar, alcohol or drug withdrawal, or a brain concussion.

What is epilepsy in children and how is it treated?

What is epilepsy in children? Epilepsy is a brain condition that causes a child to have seizures. It is one of the most common disorders of the nervous system. It affects children and adults of all races and ethnic backgrounds.

What are the risk factors for the recurrence of febrile seizures?

The risk of recurrence is higher if: 1 Your child’s first seizure resulted from a low fever. 2 The period between the start of the fever and the seizure was short. 3 An immediate family member has a history of febrile seizures. 4 Your child was younger than 18 months at the time of the first febrile seizure.

Can febrile seizures lead to epilepsy?

Febrile seizures have been linked to an increased risk of epilepsy. Many parents worry that if their child has one or more febrile seizures, they’ll develop epilepsy when they get older. Epilepsy is a condition where a person has repeated seizures without a fever.

What is epilepsy and what causes it?

This includes a high fever, high or low blood sugar, alcohol or drug withdrawal, or a brain concussion. But when a person has 2 or more seizures with no known cause, this is diagnosed as epilepsy. There are different types of seizures.

What is a first time seizure in adults?

First time seizure in adults is an abrupt change in the normal electrical activity of the brain. When a seizure occurs, the brain cells rise uncontrollably to almost four times of the normal activity, affecting the behavior, thinking, movement or feeling of a person temporarily.

What is the most common cause of seizures?

Worldwide, in adults, infections such as acute meningitis, encephalitis, malaria, HIV related disease, and cysticercosis are common causes of first seizures. 53 Provoked seizures due to intoxication and withdrawal from alcohol are also frequent. 13 54 In later life, vascular disease becomes the most common cause.

Can a child outgrow focal epilepsy?

These seizures also happen often in children, which can be frightening for children and parents alike. However, focal seizures and epilepsy are often treatable. In many cases, children with focal epilepsy will outgrow the condition and remain seizure-free for the rest of their lives.

Who is most likely to have focal seizures?

Focal seizures are most common in people who have head injuries, birth abnormalities of their brain, febrile seizures in childhood, infections of their brain (encephalitis), strokes, brain tumors or other conditions that affect their brain. How common are focal seizures?

What is a focal seizure in a child?

Focal seizures take place when abnormal electrical brain function occurs in one or more areas of one side of the brain. Before a focal seizure, your child may have an aura, or signs that a seizure is about to occur. This is more common with a complex focal seizure.

Who is at the highest risk for sudden unexpected death in epilepsy?

Children with uncontrolled epilepsy or frequent seizures are at the highest risk for SUDEP. Read SUDEP information for parents of children with epilepsy . Visit the Epilepsy Foundation’s SUDEP page for more information and resources. Devinsky O. Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy.

Can a seizure cause heart problems?

Rarely, a seizure may cause a dangerous heart rhythm or even heart failure. Other causes and mixed causes. SUDEP may result from more than one cause or a combination involving both breathing difficulty and abnormal heart rhythm. The main risk factors for SUDEP are: Generalized convulsive (also called tonic-clonic or grand mal) seizures 1

What is a generalized seizure?

If the whole brain is involved, the electrical disturbance is called a generalized seizure. This type of seizure used to be called a grand mal seizure. The most easily recognizable symptom of a generalized seizure is the body stiffness and jerking limbs known as tonic-clonic motor activity.

What is epilepsy and what causes it?

Epilepsy is a nervous system disorder that causes seizures. Seizures are temporary changes in brain activity. Doctors categorize and treat different types of epilepsy based on the kinds of seizures they cause.

What causes seizures in children?

This includes a high fever, high or low blood sugar, alcohol or drug withdrawal, or a brain concussion. But when a child has 2 or more seizures with no known cause, this is diagnosed as epilepsy.