Epilepsy is a growing neurological disease that many people do not know a lot about. It was once thought of as being controlled by demons, the devil or witches, and even caused mass amounts of discrimination through the years. After the accusations, a few different scientists are known for big discoveries such as a diagnostic tool that is used in most cases of the disease today. Epilepsy has a growing list of seizures, all which have their own unique symptoms, names and precautions for those surrounding the seizure patient. There are not many preventions and very few treatment options, which allows this disease to continue to be mysterious and unknown by many. Epilepsy is a very serious disease that everyone should know about, including the …show more content…
The word ‘epilepsy’ originates from the Ancient Greek word Epilepsis which translates to ‘taking hold’. That was exactly what the Ancient Greeks believed, that a great power takes over the body of the person with the disease (Epilepsy 2). This belief of people being controlled by these supernatural entities was not changed until the Middle Ages. In that time period, people believed that people with the disease were possessed by either the devil himself or other demons, causing them to believe that the only cure was a Catholic Exorcism (3). However, the true Scientific cause of the disease was not found until around the 19th century …show more content…
Today doctors have discovered many different causes, treatments, and other statistics about the disease. There has been no known cause in over 60% of the cases for several years (Epilepsy 8). This shows why the disease is thought of as a mystery. Some of the known causes,however, include oxygen deprivation during childbirth, brain infections (including meningitis), major head/brain injury, strokes, neurological diseases (including Alzheimer's), brain tumors, and some genetic disorders (Frequently Asked Questions 5). Another cause of the disease includes an imbalance of neurotransmitters (Seizures and Epilepsy 8). The main goal of epilepsy treatment is to control the seizures that occur (UOM 15) Treatment mostly includes different epileptic drugs, lifestyle changes and sometimes surgery (Board 13). Even though these options are available, there still is not much that the doctors can do. They have found drugs that can alter the GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) found in the brain and how it responds to the GABA (Seizures and epilepsy 8). Most have to continue to take their epilepsy medicines for several years. However, some very lucky people are able to stop their seizure medicines. This mostly occurs when they have had no seizures for several years. epilepsy is a lifelong disease for most people, and affects many people (Board 21). The seizure disorder