Seizure (cont.)
Febrile Seizures
Sometimes a child will have a seizure during the course
of an illness with a high fever. These seizures are called febrile seizures (febrile is derived from
the Latin word for "fever") and can be very alarming to the parents and other
caregivers. In the past, doctors usually prescribed a course of anticonvulsant
drugs following a febrile seizure in the hope of preventing epilepsy. However,
most children who have a febrile seizure do not develop epilepsy, and long-term
use of anticonvulsant drugs in children may damage the developing brain or cause
other detrimental side effects. Experts at a 1980 consensus conference
coordinated by the National Institutes of Health concluded that preventive
treatment after a febrile seizure is generally not warranted unless certain
other conditions are present: a family history of epilepsy, signs of nervous
system impairment prior to the seizure, or a relatively prolonged or complicated
seizure. The risk of subsequent non-febrile seizures is only 2 to 3 percent
unless one of these factors is present.
Researchers have now identified several different genes that influence the
risk of febrile seizures in certain families. Studying these genes may lead to
new understanding of how febrile seizures occur and perhaps point to ways of
preventing them.
Nonepileptic Events
Sometimes people appear to have seizures, even though their brains show no
seizure activity. This type of phenomenon has various names, including
nonepileptic events and pseudoseizures. Both of these terms essentially mean
something that looks like a seizure but isn't one. Nonepileptic events that are
psychological in origin may be referred to as psychogenic seizures.
Psychogenic seizures may indicate dependence, a need for attention, avoidance of stressful
situations, or specific psychiatric conditions. Some people with epilepsy have
psychogenic seizures in addition to their epileptic seizures. Other people who
have psychogenic seizures do not have epilepsy at all. Psychogenic seizures
cannot be treated in the same way as epileptic seizures. Instead, they are often
treated by mental health specialists.
Other nonepileptic events may be caused by narcolepsy, Tourette syndrome,
cardiac arrythmia, and other medical conditions with symptoms that resemble
seizures. Because symptoms of these disorders can look very much like epileptic
seizures, they are often mistaken for epilepsy. Distinguishing between true
epileptic seizures and nonepileptic events can be very difficult and requires a
thorough medical assessment, careful monitoring, and knowledgeable health
professionals. Improvements in brain scanning and monitoring technology may
improve diagnosis of nonepileptic events in the future.
Next: Eclampsia »
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