Epilepsy is a general term for recurring seizures or electrical disturbances - http://www.empowher.com/search/site/disturbances in the brain. They can sometimes be caused by brain injury or infection, or it can be an inherited abnormality. In a lot of cases the cause is unknown.
A cure is still a long way off, but we are getting good at controlling the number of seizures an epileptic has through anti-convulsant drugs. A new drug was just approved this week to add to the dozen or so others have become available over the last ten years. The trick is to find the drug or combination of drugs that is right for https://www.phhm6ajt.online - https://www.phhm6ajt.online the individual sufferer.
If we could find a drug that stopped seizures altogether, that would be as good as a cure. A study this month estimates that more than a million epileptics suffer uncontrolled seizures - https://www.gov.uk/search?q=seizures despite the available drugs; more than double the number we thought.
Some people have surgery to remove the part of the brain where the seizures originate. Sometimes there's a surgery to separate the two sides of the brain to prevent the seizure from spreading.
There are some promising early trials in a number of areas... The hope is that better targeting of drugs to different parts of the brain will help control and ultimately stop seizures.
Gene therapy treatment has shown some early promise in animals, and the search for genetic causes may also eventually help us better understand how the brain works and help find a cure.
Deep brain stimulation similar to that used in Parkinson's patients, where an implant is buried deep into the brain may also someday help with seizures. There is also a nerve stimulator that attaches to the vagus nerve in the neck that is effective for some in controlling seizures in some people. Some doctors envision a day when transplanted nerve cells could be used to rewire the areas of the braithat are affected.
©MMII CBS Worldwide Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed