Treatment Options For Seizures

Seizures or fits, as they are known colloquially, are episodes of abnormal surge of electrical signals in the brain. This transient brain dysfunction causes alterations in both movements and behaviors.


A seizure is usually connected to a temporary condition such as withdrawal from the use of drugs, changes in the levels of glucose and potassium in the blood, or a high fever. In such cases, it is highly likely that the seizure will not recur. However, in the case of epilepsy or repetitive seizure, treatment of the underlying cause may not be so effective as often, there are no identifiable underlying problems that can be associated with epilepsy. Although this is not to say that all seizures have no known cause or are idiopathic.

There are a number of cases whose cause may be identified as permanent damage, injury or trauma to the brain, infection of certain areas of the brain, and other brain problems. 

Once a seizure disorder has been established via a clinical diagnosis, a combination of treatments may be recommended.

Drug Therapy
Medication is the first line of defense against the next seizure. There are many types of seizure medications, each addresses a particular category of seizure and each having different effects. The choice of drug depends on these factors on top of the possible side effects that may be experienced with the use of the drug, the current condition of the patient (pregnancy is a major consideration), and use of other medications for epilepsy or other conditions.

Whenever possible, only one drug for seizure control is used. Although monotheraphy is often not an option for every patient; most require a combination of drugs to totally prevent seizure from recurring. First-line anti-epileptic drugs or AEDs include divalproex sodium, phenytoin, and carbamazepine. Patients often begin with low dosage of AED and progresses with dosage until toxic reactions appear or until seizures are controlled. When the use of monotherapy fails, other drugs are added in.

brain surgery
Where medication is proves ineffective, brain surgery may be resorted to as the ultimate solution to control seizure. There are basically two general classifications of surgery used in treatment of epilepsy or seizure disorder. The more commonly used type of resective surgery or resection which removes the part of the patient's brain from where seizure roots from, and the less common, more complex procedure is generally known as disconnection, which aims to interrupt the nerve pathways of affected parts of the brain to prevent the spread of electrical discharges to other areas of the brain.

Ketogenic Diet
This type of diet which consists of a regimen of food that is high in oils and lipids but low on carbohydrates and proteins is often used to treat difficult cases of seizure in children and adults. This diet mimics the effect of starvation in the body. This triggers the burning of body fats instead of carbohydrates to bring about an elevated level of ketone bodies in the brain which eventually leads to a reduction in the frequency of seizure.

There is presently no cure for recurrent epilepsy. Drugs for seizure disorder does not provide cure for the condition the same way as pain reliever does to headache. As of yet, the best ways to prevent an attack of seizure is to continually take medications according to prescription and to regularly coordinate with specialists to completely monitor and assess any developments in the condition.