Epilepsy

Hi people, today I am going to write about the epilepsy a disease of the central nervous system, a topic that we have studied in the class of “pharmacology of systems I” and I think this topic is very interesting because the epilepsy is the fourth most common neurological disorder and affects people of all ages, also in chile one in every hundred people have this disease.

The Epilepsy is a chronic disorder, characterized by critical episodes called epileptic crises (unprovoked seizures).  A person is diagnosed with epilepsy if they have two unprovoked seizures (or one unprovoked seizure with the likelihood of more) that were not caused by some known and reversible medical condition like alcohol withdrawal or extremely low blood sugar. The seizures in epilepsy may be related to a brain injury or a family tendency, but often the cause is completely unknown.

There are two types of epilepsy, the “petit mal seizures” which is characterized by a crisis of absence where there is no loss of consciousness, and the “grand mal seizures” which is the seizure as such, and is very limiting for the person since he cannot lead a normal life.  

There are different first, second, and third generation drugs that help treat this disease, one of the most important is Lamotrigine, because it is the only drug used in pregnant women, since treatment during pregnancy cannot be suspended because the seizures can bring serious consequences to the baby

I have lived this disease very closely, since my brother Valentin suffered from epilepsy when he was a child throughout his life he only had two crises and thanks to his constant treatment, his good nutrition, and exercise at age 17 was discharged.