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Epilepsy Research Paper

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Epilepsy symptoms can be worsened by the natural hormone changes that occur in a woman's body as she ages.

Epilepsy is a serious disorder of the brain, which causes muscle contractions, jerky movements, and a loss of consciousness. It is caused by the nerve cells in the brain becoming overstimulated. Usually, the seizures are controllable though since there are several effective medications currently available to treat them. However, natural changes in a woman's hormone levels because of perimenopause or menopause can have an impact on the brain's nerve cells, so the medications might not work as well as they are supposed to. Because of this, it is important that all women who have epilepsy read the following information about the way that their hormone levels can affect their health condition.

How Hormones Affect Nerve Cells

Women have more estrogen in their body than men do. Most people know that this is what causes them to have softer skin, higher voices, and increased fat deposits on their hips, thighs, and chest area. But what some might not realize is …show more content…
This causes her to first enter perimenopause, which is when her period begins to taper off since she no longer needs an extra layer of blood and tissue in her uterus to support a child. Finally, her period will stop completely, so she is considered menopausal. While both of these conditions are perfectly natural, the decrease in estrogen and progesterone that they cause means that the nerve cells in the brain will start firing erratically. And this can trigger a pattern of seizures. In fact, according to the Epilepsy Foundation, most epileptic women experience a 40% increase in their seizure activity as they age. Usually, when this happens, doctors call the condition catemenial epilepsy. Catemenial epilepsy most commonly occurs in women who are especially sensitive to the hormone changes going on in their

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