Seizure Disorders Stone Mountain GA

Epilepsy (also known as seizure disorder) is a neurological condition with symptoms which vary from a momentary lapse of attention to convulsions. What it is has been understood. What causes it is often not understood. Epilepsy was one of the first brain disorders to be described and its history goes back some 3000 years when it was first mentioned in Babylon. The word epilepsy is derived from the Greek word for "attack." It was once thought that people who had epilepsy were being visited by demons or gods. However in 400 B.C., the early physician Hippocrates suggested that epilepsy was a disorder of the brain.

A seizure disorder includes any condition in which there are repeated episodes of seizures of any type. Damage to brain cells can disrupt the normally smooth-running pattern of electrical activity in the brain by causing an electrical overload. This can create a seizure, which causes a sudden change in the individual's consciousness and/or change in motor activity. Epilepsy (idiopathic seizure disorder) is a term used when the seizure disorder has no identifiable cause such as brain disease. A seizure disorder affects about 0.5% of the population, and may affect people of any age.(1) The symptoms, frequency, intensity, and types of seizures vary greatly from person to person. Those whose condition is controlled by medication may not experience seizures at all.

In many cases, the cause of epilepsy is unknown.(2) It can occur as a result of an infection, head injury, brain tumor, hydro-cephalus, toxic reaction to drugs and alcohol, or other conditions which injure the brain and damage brain cells.(3),(4) Genetic factors may contribute to the development of a seizure disorder, but are not a primary cause.(5) It may also be associated with other neurological conditions such as cerebral palsy. The cause of the seizure correlates to some extent with how old the person is when the first seizure occurs. In some people, seizures may be triggered by hormone changes such as pregnancy or menstruation. They may also be triggered by illness or by sensory stimuli such as lights, sounds, and touch. In many cases, no trigger is found for the seizures. Though no direct link to seizures has been confirmed, people who have seizures have been shown to have low blood levels of vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin E.(6)

Seizures may occur in a generalized form (affecting all or most of the brain) or in a partial form. Epilepsy is typically generalized (except in some cases that develop in childhood and have a specific focus). Generalized seizures include variations of what are referred to as generalized tonic-clonic seizures and petit mal seizures. Partial seizures include focal seizures (during which the person remains alert but there are abnormal movements or sensations) and partial complex seizures (during which the abnormal movement or sensation is accompanied by changes in consciousness).

Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) are events superficially resembling an epileptic seizure but without the characteristic electrical discharges associated with epilepsy. Instead, PNES are psychological in origin and may be thought of as similar to conversion disorder. It is estimated that 20% of seizure patients seen at specialist epilepsy clinics have PNES. Results from a study indicated that cognitive behavioral therapy was beneficial to patients suffering from PNES by reducing the frequency of seizures and significantly improving their quality of life.(7)

World Health Organization, 2001.

• Up to 5% of the world's population may have a single seizure at some time in their lives.
• 50 million people in the world have epilepsy.

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institute of Health, 2004.

• More than 2 million people in the United States -- about 1 in 100 -- have experienced an unprovoked seizure or been diagnosed with epilepsy.
• About 80 percent of those diagnosed with epilepsy, seizures can be controlled with modern medicines and surgical techniques.
• About 20 percent of people with epilepsy will continue to experience seizures even with the best available treatment.
• About 20 percent of seizures in children are due to cerebral palsy or other neurological abnormalities.
• About 60 percent of people with epilepsy have focal seizures.
• About 25 to 40 percent of women with epilepsy have an increase in their seizure frequency while they are pregnant.
• Status epilepticus affects about 195,000 people each year in the United States and results in about 42,000 deaths.

• About 60 percent of people with epilepsy have partial seizures.
• 20 percent - about 600,000 people with epilepsy in the United States - have intractable seizures.
• 400,000 feel they get inadequate relief from available treatments.
• Approximately one in every 25 children will have at least one febrile seizure, and more than one-third of these children will have additional febrile seizures before they outgrow the tendency to have them.
• Febrile seizures usually occur in children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years and are particularly common in toddlers.
• Children rarely develop their first febrile seizure before the age of 6 months or after 3 years of age.
• The older a child is when the first febrile seizure occurs, the less likely that child is to have more.
• Between 95 and 98 percent of children who have experienced febrile seizures do not go on to develop epilepsy.

30 cases of epilepsy were treated with acupuncture. The acupoints selected to receive treatment were: Cheng Jiang (Ren 24), Tan Zhong (Ren 17), Jiu Wei (Ren 15), Zhong Wan (Ren 12), Guan Yuan (Ren 4), Lie Que (L 7), and Zhao Hai (K 6). The manipulation used the reinforcing method after the initial needling sensation was obtained, and retained the needles for 30 minutes. 10 sessions comprised one course of treatment. A comparison group of 30 cases was treated with phenytoin sodium (0.1g a time, 3 times daily) and oryzanol. The results: after 2~3 courses of treatment, of the treatment group, 22 cases greatly improved, 7 cases improved, and 1 case did not respond to the treatment, with a total effective rate of 96.7; of the comparison group, the corresponding numbers were 14, 14, 2, and 93.3% (P<0.05).(24)

Another study treated 139 cases of epilepsy by applying acupuncture on acupoints Fu Ya Men (about 1.7 cm directly below the midpoint of the posterior hairline and between the 2nd and 3rd cervical spinous processes) and Yao Qi (Extra 19). Fu Ya Men was punctured deeply (about 6.7-10 cm), and the needle was withdrawn after the patient's extremities twitched or the patient cried. Yao Qi (Extra 19) was punctured perpendicularly for a depth of 1 cm, and the needle was twisted to send the needling sensation to the head. The needle was retained for 20 min. The treatment was given once a day, and 7 days constituted one course of treatment. The results: after 3 courses of treatment, 93 cases significantly improved, 37 improved, 4 responded to the treatment, and the remaining 5 cases did not respond to the treatment, with a total effective rate of 96.4%.(25)

Combined herbal and acupuncture treatment

19 cases were treated with acupuncture combined with oral administration of Ding Xian San. The acupoints treated were Bai Hui (Du 20), Feng Fu (Du 16), Feng Chi (G 20), Da Zhui (Du 14), Tao Dao (Du 13), Chang Qiang (Du 1), Jiu Wei (Ren 15), Tai Chong (Liv 3), Zhao Hai (K 6) and Shen Mai (UB 62). The herbal formula consisted of Qi Ye Yi Zhi Hua (Rhizoma Paridis), Shi Chang Pu (Rhizoma Acori Graminei), Bai Jiang Can (Thlaspi), Bi Hu (Gecko), Di Long (Earthworm), Quan Xie (Scorpion), She Tui (Snake Slough). The formula was taken 5g each time, 3 times a day. The results: all cases were drastically improved.(26)

50 cases were treated with acupuncture and the single herb Bi Ba (Fructus Piperis Longi). The acupoint Yong Quan (K 1) was needled perpendicularly and quickly for 3 min, twisting clockwise with strong stimulation if an epilepsy attack is in progress and slight stimulation if the epilepsy is in remission. The needles were retained for 30 min. The procedure was repeated once daily, and 14 days comprised one course of treatment. In addition, the single herb Bi Ba (in powder) was administered 5 grams a time, twice a day, for a duration of 30 days. The results: 25 patients greatly improved, 24 improved, and 1 did not respond to the treatment, with a total effective rate of 98%.(27)