Epilepsy is a chronic disease that manifests itself in the form of repeated convulsive and/or other seizures. In some situations, there is even loss of consciousness or hallucinations. After the patient comes to his senses, his relatives and friends often note some changes in the patient's personality. He starts behaving differently. Therefore, it is important to diagnose the pathology in a timely manner and determine its form.
The first international classification of epilepsy and epileptic syndromes was compiled in Japan. However, in the future, the data were revised and finalized this document, now in the United States. This version is still relevant today. In the ICD-10 classification, epilepsy is indicated under the G40 code. According to this list, there are many subgroups that characterize different types of seizures. It is worth considering the most common types of epilepsy that are found in modern medical practice.
Classification of epilepsy: etiology and pathogenesis
Despite the fact that this disease has been known for more than 5000 years, today the completeetiology, as well as the mechanisms of development of the described disease. However, there are some data that help doctors make the correct diagnosis.
When it comes to a newborn or infant, then most often hypoxia or genetic defects that occur against a background of improperly flowing metabolism lead to such seizures. Often such such manifestations are fixed against the background of perinatal lesions. When a child reaches an older age, seizures may be due to the presence of an infectious disease that has affected the nervous system.
Despite the fact that epilepsy is not fully understood, it manifests itself in fairly clear syndromes. As a rule, patients suffer from convulsions that develop due to fever, they are also commonly called febrile. According to studies, about 5% of children and adolescents at least once faced with the fact that during a strong rise in temperature they had a convulsive state. And about half of these patients experienced recurrent seizures.
At a young age, the causes of epilepsy are often associated with traumatic brain injuries. In such situations, there can be both acute convulsions and seizures that begin in a person after a fairly long time after injury.
If we are talking about people over 20 years old, then in this case, the causes of the pathology are tumor formations in the brain. However, it all depends on the history. If in the past a person has already encountered similar problems, then it is possiblethe reason lies elsewhere.
Also, considering the classification of epileptic seizures, it is worth paying attention to the age category over 50 years. In this case, seizures can occur against the background of vascular or degenerative diseases occurring in the brain. Such attacks are very dangerous, since at this age people usually have a whole "bouquet" of additional diseases.
According to the modern classification of epilepsy, about 6-10% of patients who have had an ischemic stroke have a periodic acute condition in which convulsions begin.
Causes of pathology
It is important to consider that in some patients it is impossible to accurately diagnose the root cause of the described pathology. In this case, we are talking about idiopathic epilepsy. It also takes into account how a person is predisposed to this pathology at the genetic level. If a patient in the family had similar seizures, then he needs to be prepared for the fact that over time, epilepsy may also appear in him.
If we talk about the pathogenesis of epilepsy, then you need to understand that due to neuronal activity that begins in the brain, a person may begin to suffer from pathological factors that may be excessive or periodic. In this case, polarization of neurons in the brain is observed. It can be local or manifest in the form of periodic seizures. It is also worth dwelling in more detail on the new classification of epilepsy. To date, allocatesome of the most studied variations of this condition.
Absence epilepsy
This type of epilepsy is interesting because the patient is completely absent as such convulsions or loss of consciousness. Pathology is manifested in the fact that a person freezes for a while and loses orientation in space. At the same time, the patient does not react in any way to any external stimuli.
Among the main symptoms of this type of epilepsy is not only a sudden freeze, but also a too focused or absent look. In this case, a person may not react in any way if you turn to him. Most often, such pathologies appear in children at preschool age. The development of these symptoms can last quite a long time - up to 6 years. After that, the signs of the disease can either stop completely, or flow into another, more serious form of pathology.
Considering the classification of epilepsy, it is worth noting that girls are much more prone to absence seizures than members of the opposite sex. Therefore, parents of girls should pay attention to any strange symptoms and a sharp change in the child's behavior.
Rolandic form of pathology
This type of epilepsy, which is part of the international classification of epilepsy, is more common in children than in adults. As a rule, the first attacks begin in the period from the age of three and can occur up to 14 years. Boys are most often affected by this form of epilepsy.
During the seizure, the patient has severe numbness of the skincovers on the face, also loses the sensitivity of the tongue and gums. It becomes very difficult for the patient to speak, he develops a strong salivation. In addition, these seizures may be accompanied by unilateral or other convulsions. Attacks usually occur predominantly at night and do not last very long.
Myoclonic form
Considering the classification of epilepsy and epileptic seizures, it is worth paying attention to this type of illness. This form of the disease occurs in both sexes. Seizures of this type are considered quite common, and the disease usually begins to appear between 10 and 20 years of age.
In terms of the main symptoms, patients begin to suffer from standard epileptic seizures, but after a while they begin to develop other abnormalities. Thus, patients suffer from involuntary muscle contractions.
Often this kind of epilepsy flows into serious mental changes. If we talk about the frequency of attacks, then it all depends on the specific situation. For some, they occur daily, while for others they are observed only a few times a month or less.
Additionally, doctors observe a disorder of consciousness in patients. However, do not be upset when you hear this diagnosis. This form of pathology usually responds very well to therapeutic treatment.
Post-traumatic epilepsy
In this case, seizures occur against the background of previous head injuries or brain injuries. According toclinical classification of epilepsy, its post-traumatic variety mainly manifests itself in the form of standard seizures.
It occurs in about 10% of people who have experienced serious injuries. So, if we are talking about brain damage, then the likelihood of further development of epilepsy increases to 40%.
It is worth noting that the first attacks occur not only shortly after the injury, but also several years later, when the victim already forgets about the incident. The duration of the development of the disease directly depends on which area of the brain was hit.
Alcoholic form of seizures
According to the classification of epilepsy, this pathology is usually called alcohol injection into the brain. This condition is considered one of the most difficult. In this case, the person starts quite strong convulsive seizures.
If we talk about the causes of this condition, then, as a rule, too long drinking of alcoholic beverages leads to it, as a result of which the patient develops severe intoxication. This is especially dangerous if the patient has consumed low-quality alcohol.
In the case when an infectious disease of the brain, a patient's previous head injury or the presence of atherosclerosis is an additional factor, a seizure may occur within a few days after the feast is stopped.
Describing the symptoms of alcoholic epilepsy, it is worth paying attention to the fact that the patient first loses consciousness, after whichthere is a strong blanching of his face. The victim begins to feel sick, there is foam from the mouth. The seizure does not last long and stops at the moment when the patient fully regains consciousness. After that, he really wants to sleep. In some situations, there is also the occurrence of hallucinations. This is a very dangerous condition in which you need to immediately call the doctors.
Non-convulsive epilepsy
This type of seizure often occurs against the background of the development of a particular disease, as well as as a result of psychological changes. This condition is dangerous because it can last from a few minutes to two days. As a rule, non-convulsive seizures occur very suddenly and also stop quickly.
To understand that a person will soon have a seizure, you need to pay attention to whether he has a narrowing of consciousness. In this situation, patients begin to perceive the surrounding reality worse, focusing exclusively on emotionally important phenomena for them. It is not uncommon for patients to experience severe hallucinations, which can be quite frightening.
With non-convulsive epilepsy, people become more emotional. As a rule, such a pathology often manifests itself in some mental disorders. After such attacks, the patient cannot remember what he did during the attack. More often than not, however, residual memories persist.
Classification of forms of epilepsy depending on the area of brain damage: frontal epilepsy
If we consider the patient's condition, based on the affectedzones of the brain, then in medicine there are certain types of the described disease, which include frontal epilepsy.
In this case, pathological foci are concentrated precisely in the named lobes of the human brain. People of any age are susceptible to such manifestations.
Seizures are characterized by high frequency, but there are no fixed intervals between them. As a rule, the seizure lasts no more than 60 seconds. It starts very suddenly and stops just as quickly. If we talk about symptoms, then first of all the patient feels a strong fever, he cannot talk normally, he moves chaotically.
Varieties of frontal epilepsy are nocturnal seizures. By the way, such a development of pathology is considered the most favorable. The fact is that in such situations, neurons become active mainly at night, which means that excitation will not be transmitted to neighboring areas of the brain and, accordingly, the attacks will be much milder.
If we talk about symptoms, then during such seizures, the patient begins to carry out any active activity in the process of sleep. For example, his limbs may tremble, move. Some patients experience involuntary urination.
In the new classification of epilepsy, other types of pathology can be found.
Temporal lobe epilepsy
If we are talking about lesions that occur in this temporal brain, then in this case, the development of pathology can be influenced by a large number of factors. For example, from the temporalepilepsy often affects women who have received a birth injury.
Attacks with this form of pathology last a very short time. And among the main symptoms, nausea, rather strong pain in the peritoneum, intestinal spasms, rapid pulse, heavy breathing and excessive sweating can be distinguished. Some patients experience minor changes in consciousness. For example, a person begins to perform absolutely meaningless actions.
Diseases of this type are considered chronic, and if you do not try to stabilize the patient's condition, the pathology will only progress.
Occipital epilepsy
This type of pathology occurs mainly in very young children aged 2 to 4 years. In this case, most often there is a favorable prognosis for the development of the disease, since after a while the problem disappears completely.
Coccipital epilepsy can be caused by an infection, tumor, or congenital malformation of the brain. In this case, the child may experience flies before the eyes during an attack, small hallucinations, and the movement of the eyeballs is observed.
Also, the classification of seizures of epilepsy includes other forms of pathology.
West syndrome (infantile spasms)
If we talk about the classical development of the named pathology, then the first seizures occur in the first year of a baby's life. Most often they are observed in babies in the first years of life. At the same time, in 90% of small patients, seizures are observed up to 12months.
In an individual child, infantile spasms appear stereotypically. Quite often they come in series.
During an attack, his body completely bends and unbends, as well as limbs. As the child grows, the convulsive state manifests itself less and less and, as a rule, completely stops at 5 years. However, in some situations and later in life, such a patient has problems.
International classification of epilepsy: partial seizures
As a rule, with these types of pathology, convulsive seizures occur, caused by disorders in one of the areas of the brain. This type of epilepsy can have some complications. However, if we consider simple manifestations of this type of pathology in the classification of epileptic seizures, then we can distinguish the following types of seizures:
- Motor muscle cramps.
- Touch. These include seizures triggered by beeps or bright flashes of light.
- Vegetative. According to the classification of epilepsy, in this case we are talking about excessive sweating, redness or blanching of the skin and other autonomic disorders.
In the event of a complex seizure, a person may experience a violation of consciousness, a change in the psyche. A person ceases to be aware of what is happening around, to adequately respond to others.
In the classification of epilepsy, other types of seizures are also presented, but they are much less common in medical practice. Therefore, it is worth paying attention tosymptoms and manifestations of the syndromes described above. If any warning sign appears, especially after a head injury, you should consult a doctor. The sooner treatment is started, the greater the chance of preventing severe complications.
