Epilepsy Specialist

What is epilepsy?

Epilepsy is a term for abnormal brainwave activity that triggers changes in emotions, sensation, or behavior and may lead to muscle spasms, seizures, or loss of consciousness.

You might experience similar problems or have a seizure if you suffer a traumatic brain injury or have a high fever, but that doesn't mean you have epilepsy. For Dr. Tesfaye to diagnose epilepsy, you must have had two or more seizures.

Are there different types of epilepsy?

There are two types of epilepsy:

Focal seizures

Focal seizures affect one part of your brain and may or may not cause you to lose consciousness. They can disrupt your senses, emotions, and awareness. 

Generalized seizures

Generalized seizures affect your whole brain. Absence seizures (formerly known as petit-mal seizures), clonic, tonic, myoclonic, and atonic seizures are all types of generalized seizures. The most serious form is tonic-clonic (formerly known as a grand mal seizure).

Some patients have the sleep disorder, nocturnal epilepsy.

How is epilepsy diagnosed?

Your symptoms are a good indication that you have epilepsy. However, if you only experience absence seizures, you might not realize they're because of epilepsy.

To diagnose your condition, Dr. Tesfaye uses electroencephalography (EEG) technology to capture any abnormal brain activity. An MRI, CT, or other diagnostic imaging scans of your brain could be useful as well.

Dr. Tesfaye might also run tests to determine which part of your brain is triggering the seizures. These tests include:

Statistical parametric mapping (SPM)

SPM compares areas of your brain with increased blood flow during a seizure to normal brains.

Electrical source imaging (ESI)

ESI takes the information from your EEG data and overlays it onto an MRI of your brain.  

Magnetoencephalography (MEG)

MEG measures the magnetic fields your brain activity produces.

Determining the type of epilepsy you have and where the seizures start helps Dr. Tesfaye prescribe the most appropriate treatment.

What treatments can help with epilepsy?

In most cases, Dr. Tesfaye can help you control your epilepsy with medication. There are more than 20 different antiseizure medications available. Finding the right one or combination for you and determining the optimal dose requires specialist expertise.

Dr. Tesfaye takes into account the type of seizures, their frequency, and factors like your age and other health problems you may have. To begin with, he's likely to prescribe a single antiseizure drug at a comparatively low dose. The dose can gradually increase until you have your seizures under control.

Another effective treatment for epilepsy is vagal nerve stimulation. The vagal nerve stimulator (VNS) device is an implantable unit that goes into your chest. It sends out pulses of electrical energy to your vagus nerve, which helps correct the brainwave abnormality that causes your epilepsy symptoms.

Other treatments like deep brain stimulation, transcranial magnetic stimulation, and adopting a ketogenic diet can help some patients.

To gain control of your epilepsy, call Atlanta Neuro Care today, or book an appointment online.