Epilepsy: A Case Study

1. Introduction Epilepsy is defined as a brain disorder characterized by an enduring predisposition togenerate seizures (International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) and the InternationalBureau for Epilepsy (IBE), 2005). It is a neurological disorder consisting of recurrentseizures that resulted from excessive, uncontrolled electrical activity in the brain (Wang,2011). The ancient Babylonian believed that seizures can occur when a person wasvisited by a demon and thus, the different kinds of seizures arise due to the differentdemons that visited each person (Stol, 1993). The word epilepsy was derived from theGreek word for attack. The ancient Greeks thought epilepsy was contagious, and hencepeople with epilepsy used to live alone (Dam, 2003).Epilepsy still carries a great stigma, thus many people hide their condition, whichhinders public awareness about the subject (Cendes, 2011).
The modern medical era of epilepsy began in the mid-1800s, with the works ofthree English neurologists: Russell Reynolds, John Hughlings Jackson, and Sir WilliamRichard Gowers (Rose, 1999). Jackson defined a seizure as "an occasional, an excessive,and a disorderly discharge of nerve tissue on muscles." (Chillemi, 2012).His definition isstill used to describe seizures.Epilepsy is classified into different types, depending on part of brain that is affected andthe resulting seizure. However, all type of epilepsies have the same symptoms;characterized by convulsions and seizures. Although epilepsy can develop at any age,itwas assumed to be a condition of childhood health issue. In fact, about 30% of newcases detected every year began in