Simple partial seizures

Simple partial seizures

Simple partial seizures differ significantly from person to person, depending on the segment of the brain they begin from. The one common trait all seizure victims possess is alertness during the seizure and the ability to remember their experiences. Simple partial seizure activity can spread to other brain segments, leading to another type of seizure to follow the simple partial one. These can be either a complex partial seizure, or a secondarily generalized seizure, with a length of mostly less than two minutes.

Categoriesof Simple Partial Seizures

Simple partial seizures are often categorized depending on the type of symptoms the person experiences, including Motor seizures, Sensory seizures, Autonomic seizures and Psychic seizures.

Motorseizures cause a change in the muscle activity, such as abdominal movements, stiffening or jerking of a body part, and all and any of these can spread to the other parts of the body. A weakness that can affect speech and laughter is also a common side-effect. Sensory seizures cause changes in any of the senses, causing symptoms such as smelling or tasting things that are not there, hearing clicking, ringing or a person voice when no actual sound can be heard, or feeling numbness or other tactile sensations, sometimes even pain. Visual hallucinations can also occur, such as seeing spots of light or people, as well as illusions, such as an object appearing farther than it actually is, or a sound appearing muffled when it is actually clear. Autonomic seizures cause change in the part of the nervous system that controls bodily functions, resulting in unpleasant sensations in the stomach, chest or head, changes in the heart rate or breathing, sweating and goose bumps. Finally, psychic seizures alter the way people think, feel, or experience things. Problems with memory, garbled speech or an inability to find the right word or understand language all are symptoms of psychic seizures. Out-of-body experiences and déjà vu are often tied to the occurrence of psychic seizures.

Diagnosisand Treatment

Though Simple partial seizures are more likely to affect the people who have a tumor, have had a stroke, or have had a head injury or brain infection, its cause is unknown and can still occur to anyone. Diagnosis can be difficult due to the fact many other ailments have similar symptoms: psychiatric illness or drug use can cause hallucinations, and déjà vu is often experienced by most of the population. The frequency of these occurrences can help ascertain if these symptoms are related to other episodic changes and seizure types. A full physical examination combined with a complete medical history can help rule out other causes of the symptoms as well as ascertain the likelihood of epilepsy. Simple partial seizures can be controlled by seizure medicines in most cases.