For my neurological disease I decided on temporal lobe epilepsy. The features of seizures beginning in the temporal lobe can be extremely varied, but certain patterns are common. There may be a mixture of different feelings, emotions, thoughts, and experiences, which may be familiar or completely foreign. In some cases, a series of old memories resurfaces. In others, the person may feel as if everything—including home and family—appears strange. Hallucinations of voices, music, people, smells, or tastes may occur. These features are called “auras” or “warnings.” They may last for just a few seconds, or may continue as long as a minute or two. Experiences during temporal lobe seizures vary in intensity and quality. Sometimes the seizures are so mild that the person barely notices. In other cases, the person may be consumed with fright, intellectual fascination, or even pleasure. The experiences and sensations that accompany these seizures are often impossible to describe, even for the most eloquent adult. And of course it is even more difficult to get an accurate picture of what people are feeling.
The overall prognosis for patients with drug resistant medial temporal lobe epilepsy includes a higher risk for memory and mood difficulties. This in turn leads to impairments in quality of life and an increased risk for death, as observed in patients who have frequent seizures failing to respond to treatment. Conditions often associated with temporal lobe epilepsy include head trauma with loss of consciousness, injuries during early childhood and birth, brain malformations, infections such as encephalitis or meningitis, and even some tumors within the temporal lobe. The most common risk factor is having had a seizure associated with fever. Approximately two-thirds of patients with temporal lobe epilepsy have had a febrile seizure without an infection before the onset of complex partial seizures.
Most patients with focal seizures will respond to medical treatment with appropriate anti-epileptic drugs. However, almost a third of patients may not respond to therapy and they may report problems with memory, socialization, and a fear of leaving their home. They may restrict their activities of daily life, which in turn leads to a decrease in quality of life. If seizures fail to respond to medication, then surgical approaches are an appropriate option. In individuals where the MRI shows hippocampal sclerosis in the medial temporal lobe and EEGs show abnormalities in that same area, seizures may be cured by surgery and in some cases, up to 70% of people can be rendered seizure-free with minimal problems afterwards. If surgery is not possible or doesn't work, devices such as vagus nerve stimulation or responsive neurostimulation may help.