Epilepsy is a neurological condition that involves recurring seizures. This is caused by irregular electrical discharges among the brain cells. This results in convulsions of the body, loss of consciousness, and sometimes severely altered senses. ¹

Because epilepsy is caused by abnormal activity in the brain, seizures can affect any process your brain coordinates. Seizure signs and symptoms may include:

• • • Temporary confusion
    • A staring spell
    • Uncontrollable jerking movements of the arms and legs
    • Loss of consciousness or awareness
    • Psychic symptoms such as fear, anxiety or deja vu

Symptoms vary depending on the type of seizure. In most cases, a person with epilepsy will tend to have the same type of seizure each time, so the symptoms will be similar from episode to episode.

Doctors generally classify seizures as either focal or generalized, based on how the abnormal brain activity begins. ²

• • Focal seizures without loss of consciousness. Once called simple partial seizures, these seizures don’t cause a loss of consciousness. They may alter emotions or change the way things look, smell, feel, taste or sound. They may also result in involuntary jerking of a body part, such as an arm or leg, and spontaneous sensory symptoms such as tingling, dizziness and flashing lights.
  • Focal seizures with impaired awareness. Once called complex partial seizures, these seizures involve a change or loss of consciousness or awareness. During a complex partial seizure, you may stare into space and not respond normally to your environment or perform repetitive movements, such as hand rubbing, chewing, swallowing or walking in circles.

Seizures that appear to involve all areas of the brain are called generalized seizures. Six types of generalized seizures exist.

• • Absence seizures. Absence seizures, previously known as petit mal seizures, often occur in children and are characterized by staring into space or subtle body movements such as eye blinking or lip smacking. These seizures may occur in clusters and cause a brief loss of awareness.
  • Tonic seizures. Tonic seizures cause stiffening of your muscles. These seizures usually affect muscles in your back, arms and legs and may cause you to fall to the ground.
  • Atonic seizures. Atonic seizures, also known as drop seizures, cause a loss of muscle control, which may cause you to suddenly collapse or fall down.
  • Clonic seizures. Clonic seizures are associated with repeated or rhythmic, jerking muscle movements. These seizures usually affect the neck, face and arms.
  • Myoclonic seizures. Myoclonic seizures usually appear as sudden brief jerks or twitches of your arms and legs.
  • Tonic-clonic seizures.Tonic-clonic seizures, previously known as grand mal seizures, are the most dramatic type of epileptic seizure and can cause an abrupt loss of consciousness, body stiffening and shaking, and sometimes loss of bladder control or biting your tongue. ³

Epilepsy has no identifiable cause in about half the people with the condition. In the other half, the condition may be traced to various factors, including:

• • Genetic influence. Some types of epilepsy, which are categorized by the type of seizure you experience or the part of the brain that is affected, run in families. In these cases, it’s likely that there’s a genetic influence.

Researchers have linked some types of epilepsy to specific genes, but for most people, genes are only part of the cause of epilepsy. Certain genes may make a person more sensitive to environmental conditions that trigger seizures.

• • Head trauma. Head trauma as a result of a car accident or other traumatic injury can cause epilepsy.
  • Brain conditions. Brain conditions that cause damage to the brain, such as brain tumors or strokes, can cause epilepsy. Stroke is a leading cause of epilepsy in adults older than age 35.
  • Infectious diseases. Infectious diseases, such as meningitis, AIDS and viral encephalitis, can cause epilepsy.
  • Prenatal injury. Before birth, babies are sensitive to brain damage that could be caused by several factors, such as an infection in the mother, poor nutrition or oxygen deficiencies. This brain damage can result in epilepsy or cerebral palsy.
  • Developmental disorders. Epilepsy can sometimes be associated with developmental disorders, such as autism and neurofibromatosis. ⁴

Typically, epilepsy patients are prescribed multiple anticonvulsants that often come with several side effects. Some side effects of anticonvulsants are:

• • • Headaches
    • Nausea
    • Loss of hair
    • Liver failure
    • Depression
    • Double vision
    • Weight gain
    • Slurring of speech
    • Irritability
    • Sleep disturbances
    • Sedations
    • Impotence
    • Mood disturbances.

Medical Cannabis has anticonvulsants which may prevent epileptic patients from having seizures. ⁵ “Early evidence from laboratory studies, anecdotal reports, and small clinical studies over a number of years suggest that cannabidiol (CBD) could potentially help control seizures. Research on CBD has been hard to do and taken time due to federal regulations and limited access to cannabidiol. There are also many financial and time constraints. In recent years, a number of studies have shown the benefit of specific plant-based CBD product in assisting specific groups of people with epilepsy who have not responded to traditional therapies,” (Epilepsy Foundation). ⁶

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SOURCES:

1 https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/epilepsy/symptoms-causes/syc-20350093
2 https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/epilepsy/symptoms-causes/syc-20350093
3 https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/epilepsy/symptoms-causes/syc-20350093
4 https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/epilepsy/symptoms-causes/syc-20350093
5 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24854329
6 https://www.epilepsy.com/learn/treating-seizures-and-epilepsy/other-treatment-approaches/medical-marijuana-and-epilepsy