Specializing in seizures and epilepsy, neurologist Diego Tovar-Quiroga, MD explains that often people are bewildered by symptoms that can affect mental health. He provides ways to successfully recognize and treat this brain disorder. Diego completed medical school in Bogotá, Colombia and hisfellowship at the Mayo Clinic. He is a certified neurologist at Austin EpilepsyCare Center and is dedicated to treating and diagnosing people with seizuresand epilepsy. ➤RESOURCESAustin Epilepsy Care Center: http://www.austinepilepsy.comEpilepsy Foundation: 1-800-332-1000National Association of Epilepsy Centers:https://www.naec-epilepsy.orgFree Worksheet: https://www.YourTruthRevealed.com ➤SUMMARYWhat happens neurologically in the brain during a seizure?* A seizure is a sudden, uncontrolled electrical disturbance inthe brain. It can cause changes in your behavior, movements, feelings, andlevels of consciousness.* Seizures can be provoked by many different factors. They’reclassified as either epileptic or non-epileptic seizures.* Epileptic seizures – dysfunction of the electrical networks inthe brain.* Non-epileptic seizures – enhanced neural networks in thebrain.* Because these two different types of events can look alike,sometimes people get the wrong diagnosis and are treated wrongly for decades. How do you discovery the correct diagnosis?* The diagnosis is confirmed by capturing the events withelectroencephalogram (EEG), ideally with simultaneous video recording. Thistest allows us to determine if there is abnormal electrical activity in thebrain at the time of the event, which is the hallmark of epileptic seizures.* When patients have non epileptic seizures, the majority of thetimes there is a pain syndrome that is not well controlled.* Part of my role is to guide the patient to see the correlationand explore the treatment options. How might someone who has seizures experience an impact on theirmental health?* Epileptic seizures are a brain malfunction, and so are majordepression, anxiety disorders, and psychoses. Although epilepsy is not apsychiatric disorder, its psychiatric dimension is important for treatment andresearch.* The symptoms of focal seizures, especially, can be mistaken —by the patient or the doctor — for psychiatric symptoms, especially panicattacks, flashback memories, or dissociative experiences (involving, forexample, altered consciousness or a feeling of unreality).* About a third of people with focal seizures also suffer fromanxiety disorders, especially agoraphobia. But the psychiatric disorder mostnotoriously associated with epilepsy is depression. As many as a third ofpeople with epilepsy suffer from periodic depression, and depression is 4–7times more frequent than average among them.* Seizures themselves can cause lasting changes in mood andthinking.* A condition called interictal dysphoric disorder occurs insome patients with epilepsy. The definition includes eight symptoms, of whichthe patient must have at least three: depression, lack of energy, pain,irritability, anxiety, fear, and, oddly, euphoria. How does culture impact how seizures are treated?* All cultures have health beliefs to explain what the cause ofa disease is, how it should be treated or cured, and who should be involved inthis process.
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