Epilepsy-Seizures Information
Overview
Epileptic seizures have been recognized for millennia. One of the earliest descriptions of a secondarily generalized tonic-clonic seizure was recorded over 3000 years ago in Mesopotamia. The seizure was attributed to the god of the moon. Epileptic seizures were described in ancient cultures, including those of China, Egypt, and India. An ancient Egyptian papyrus described a seizure in a man who had previous head trauma. Hippocrates wrote the first book about epilepsy almost 2500 years ago. He rejected ideas regarding the divine etiology of epilepsy and concluded that the cause was excessive phlegm that caused abnormal brain consistency. Hippocratic teachings were forgotten, and divine etiologies again dominated beliefs about epileptic seizures during medieval times. Even at the turn of the 19th century, excessive masturbation was considered a cause of epilepsy. This hypothesis is credited as leading to the use of the first effective anticonvulsant (ie, bromides).
Modern investigation of the etiology of epilepsy began with the work of Fritsch, Hitzig, Ferrier, and Caton in the 1870s. They recorded and evoked epileptic seizures in the cerebral cortex of animals. In 1929, Berger discovered that electrical brain signals could be recorded from the human head by using scalp electrodes; this discovery led to the use of electroencephalography (EEG) to study and classify epileptic seizures. Gibbs, Lennox, Penfield, and Jasper further advanced the understanding of epilepsy and developed the system of the 2 major classes of epileptic seizures currently used. An excellent historical review of seizures and epilepsy, written by E. Goldensohn, was published in the journal Epilepsia to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the creation of the American Epilepsy Society in 1997. A more recent review discusses the foundation of this professional society.1
Definitions
Epilepsy is a disorder characterized by the occurrence of at least 2 unprovoked seizures 24 hours apart. Some clinicians are also diagnosing epilepsy when 1 unprovoked seizure occurs in the setting of an interictal discharge. Seizures are the manifestation of abnormal hypersynchronous discharges of cortical neurons. The clinical signs or symptoms of seizures depend on the location of the epileptic discharges in the cortex and the extent and pattern of the propagation of the epileptic discharge in the brain.
That seizures are a common, nonspecific manifestation of neurologic injury and disease should not be surprising because the main function of the brain is the transmission of electrical impulses. The lifetime likelihood of experiencing at least 1 epileptic seizure is about 9%, and the lifetime likelihood of receiving a diagnosis of epilepsy is almost 3%. However, the prevalence of active epilepsy is only about 0.8%.
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