Companion Guide to Healthy Living: Mysteries of the Mind Series

Posted: November 14, 2003

Mysteries of the Mind, a one-hour Healthy Living Series television documentary about epilepsy, premiered Nov. 11, in observance of National Epilepsy Awareness Month. The program featured Martha Morrell, M.D., member of the Epilepsy Foundation's board of directors, Foundation president and CEO Eric Hargis, and Phil Gattone, President of the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Chicago, among others. Mysteries of the Mind will be aired in more than 100 cable and television markets over the next few months.

Please visit the Healthy Living: Mysteries of the Mind website to see when the documentary will air in your area.

The program is presented in seven segments, as follow. Epilepsy Foundation resources to complement each segment are linked.

Definition of Epilepsy & Faces of People with Epilepsy

What is Epilepsy?

Epilepsy: An Introduction discusses what epilepsy is, including types of seizures and treatment options. The Frequently Asked Questions section of the Epilepsy Foundation website addresses fundamental questions about epilepsy and offers visitors the opportunity to submit specific follow-up questions to be addressed by Foundation staff.

As well, QuickStart Guides for the Newly Diagnosed and for Parents are available to address the myriad questions associated with the diagnosis of epilepsy. The QuickStart Guides are designed to help visitors learn more about epilepsy — from living with it to types of treatment.

Faces of Epilepsy Today

Epilepsy affects more people than multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy and Parkinson's disease combined. It can strike at any age and in any ethnic group. Incidence is higher under age 2 and over age 65, and racial minorities are more likely than Caucasians to develop epilepsy. During the Healthy Living program, you meet Edgar Hurtado. Many more individuals tell their stories on the Epilepsy Foundation website.

Heroes Among Us is a special place on the website. Here, people affected by epilepsy can tell their stories and help to raise money to search for a cure for epilepsy and a better life for people affected by seizures. Meet some Heroes Among Us.

The eCommunities forums provide threaded discussions, a daily chat session and chat rooms. Hundreds of individuals visit each week to share information, support each other and schedule activities. The diverse and active forums include: Living Well with Epilepsy; Parents Helping Parents; Women with Epilepsy; Teen Chat Group; Poetry and Prose; Friends, Family and Loved Ones; Seniors and The Lounge.

Seizures Types & Diagnosis

A seizure can take on many forms, and they are not always characterized by violent convulsions.

Seizure Types

Generalized Seizures: When a seizure-causing electrical disturbance involves the whole brain, the seizure is called generalized. The Answer Place reviews absence, atonic, myoclonic and tonic clonic (grand mal) seizures.

Nonepileptic Seizures: Nonepileptic seizures are episodes that briefly change a person's behavior and often look like epileptic seizures. Whereas epileptic seizures are caused by abnormal electrical changes in the brain, nonepileptic seizures are not caused by these disruptions. The presence of nonepileptic seizures makes it difficult sometimes for physicians to diagnose epilepsy.

Partial Seizures: Partial seizures happen when an electrical disturbance occurs in just one part of the brain, affecting whatever physical or mental activity that area controls. Partial seizures are the most common form of seizure in adults, affecting six out of every 10 people with epilepsy and four out of 10 children with epilepsy. The Answer Place covers types of partial seizures, first aid, treatment and life issues.

Diagnosis

Diagnosis is a multi-layered process, involving the person with seizures and the doctor. Visit First Steps: The Diagnosis to find out more about questions a doctor will ask and tests that may be performed.

Causes of Epilepsy and Specific Groups

According to Dr. Morrell, "Everyone can have epilepsy. One out of every 10 people will have a seizure in their life. It's a very high number. But only one to two out of 100 develops epilepsy." Those who are diagnosed want to know why they have epilepsy and what caused it to develop. Epilepsy can be broken down into as many as 40 syndromes, each of which is further divided by seizure types and brain patterns.

Epilepsy Syndromes

Some people with epilepsy appear to be very similar to others with epilepsy in terms of how old they are when the seizures begin, the type of seizures they have and their response to treatment. These people are identified as having a specific epilepsy syndrome. Find out about the various types of epilepsy syndromes.

In some cases, a cause cannot be determined. For certain age groups, however, some factors are more prevalent than others:

Children & Teens

While epilepsy can begin at any time of life, 50 percent of all cases begin before age 25. The Answer Place Causes of Childhood Epilepsy discusses symptomatic factors as well as genetic factors. Additional information on genetic factors is available in the Research section Gene Discovery Project section.

Adult Onset & The Elderly

Factors that cause seizures in older people are more likely to be related directly to physical changes associated with aging. In the Life Aspects section of the Answer Place, Causes of Epilepsy in the Elderly are discussed.

First Aid for Seizures and Treatment Options

Since anyone at any age can develop epilepsy, it is important to know what to do when someone has a seizure. Witnessing a seizure for the first time — or for that matter the fiftieth time — can be frightening, but knowing what to do makes the situation more manageable. The most common misconceptions are that one should either grab the person's tongue or place a spoon in their mouth.

First Aid

Proper first aid is simple and easy to remember. Primarily, it involves making sure that the person is in a safe location and that potentially hazardous objects are removed from the vicinity. The Foundation website includes a chart, an 11 minute online educational video presentation, a review of special circumstances like seizures in water or on an airplane, and guidelines for contacting emergency personnel.

Medication

For many individuals, seizures can be controlled with medications. The doctor's choice of which drug to prescribe depends on what kind of seizure a person is having. People react to medicines in different ways. Some experience side effects, others may not. Medication issues, including children and medication, drug interactions, finding the right medication, pregnancy, and successful treatment tips, are discussed in the Answer Place Medications section.

Surgery

Alternatively, for some individuals, surgery is an option. The Surgery section reviews types of surgery, costs, planning, and decision-making. EpilepsyUSA, the Foundation's news repository, frequently features pieces about individuals who have undergone surgery. The search word "surgery" will locate a number of interesting articles.

Diet

For still others, particularly children, the diet is yet another alternative for preventing or reducing the frequency of seizures. The Ketogenic Diet section explores the myriad facets of this treatment option, encompassing fact sheets on making the decision, working with a dietician, tips for parents and other factors. Members of the Parents Helping Parents forum on eCommunities also explore the topic regularly.

Research

Medical research brings numerous promising advances for the treatment of epilepsy. These new developments include cutting edge treatments, surgeries, medications, trials and research.

Vagus Nerve Stimulation Therapy

Vagus nerve stimulation therapy is a relatively new form of treatment that may be tried when medications fail to stop seizures. It is currently approved for use in adults and children over age 12 who have partial seizures that resist control by other methods.

Clinical Trials

Clinical trials are necessary to test the effectiveness of new therapies and to develop better ways of using known treatments. In some cases, they can make the difference between life and death for patients or a significantly improved quality of life. The Foundation's Clinical Trials page references some sources of clinical trial lists.

Gene Discovery Project

The Gene Discovery Project facilitates the search for the genes associated with epilepsy. The Project partners people who have epilepsy in their family with researchers that are looking for the epilepsy genes.

Women With Epilepsy and Pregnancy

While epilepsy affects all aspects of any individual's life, women with epilepsy face additional challenges. The Women & Epilepsy Initiative is committed to addressing the unique health concerns of women with epilepsy.

Pregnant women with epilepsy who are taking antiepileptic drugs can help researchers learn how certain drugs affect unborn children by participating in the Antiepileptic Drug Pregnancy Registry.

Psychological Aspects of Epilepsy

Seizures are unpredictable events. This uncontrollable issue causes a struggle for many people with epilepsy. The frequency of depression and other mood disorders is significantly more prevalent in people with epilepsy than in the general population.

Mood Disorders

Following an online survey that indicated mood disorders as a significant concern for people with epilepsy, the Foundation initiated a series of Ask the Expert chat sessions that enabled participants to pose questions to medical professionals. Several of these sessions are online.

August 2003: Mood Disorders & Children
May 2003: Mood Disorders
November 2002: Epilepsy & Mood Disorders

Complementary Treatments & Alternative Therapies

People with epilepsy cite stress as the most common seizure trigger. Many look to complementary treatments and alternative therapies to help control their seizures. The benefits of these techniques are still being explored and should not take the place of medication. The Foundation has reviewed these treatment options in EpilepsyUSA stories, a Women's Health Month chat, in an online survey and in a Mood Disorders chat.

The recent Epilepsy Foundation 35th Annual National Conference in Orlando even included a yoga session, pronounced by one participant as "the best session in the conference."

Support & Advocacy

As one interviewee notes on the Mysteries of the Mind program, epilepsy "is a very lonely disease. Because you don't look on TV and see public service announcements, you don't hear much about it. People tend not to talk about it."

The Epilepsy Foundation works every day to educate the public and to provide support and information for people with epilepsy.

National Epilepsy Month Media Campaign

As part of National Epilepsy Month, the Foundation has teamed with the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to let the public know that teens and 'tweens with epilepsy are Entitled to Respect through a public awareness campaign featuring Grammy Award-winning celebrity Monica. Members of the board of directors and Foundation executives have participated in a media blitz that included the Mysteries of the Mind television documentary and numerous live and taped radio interviews.

Local Affiliates

All around the United States, local Epilepsy Foundations provide valuable resources like events, support groups and job services to their local areas. You can search for your local affiliate on the Foundation's website.

Community

While many visitors intially come to the Foundation's website for information and educational materials, they return frequently as members of the eCommunities forum to gain strength and support from others whose lives are also affected by epilepsy.