Does epilepsy occures person in sleep?.which part of brain is affected by this?.is it curable?

Hi,
There are many different kinds of seizures involving different parts of the brain, eg. Hippocampus Some seizure types occur randomly. Others are not entirely random and can have an important relationship to sleep. But yes, seizures can occur during sleep, particularly Frontal Lobe seizures.

Some people have seizures that affect all of the brain at once. These are called generalized seizures. Others have partial seizures, affecting only part of the brain, and some people have both generalised and partial seizures. Memory problems can happen in both cases.

Unfortunately, epilepsy is not curable. It can only be contained with Anti-Epileptic Drugs (AEDs). In some people the tendency to have seizures decreases with time and they may be able to stop taking their AEDs. Other people may need to continue taking AEDs for the long-term.

Here is a link to help you understand epilepsy better: http://www.epilepsynse.org.uk/pages/info...

Hope this helps

I think so...yes
maybe the cerebral cortex...

I dont know.But is one hell of a scary ride...

epilepsy is not fully curable..however it is sustainable...my friend has epeilepsy and he has to take pills everyday..

Seizures can occur during sleep, whatever part of the brain that has been injured is affected and there is NO cure, only treatments, usually medication and some lifestyle changes. In people with severe uncontrollable seizures there is surgery that can be performed on the affected part of the brain but this is a last resort.

I take an anti-convulsant for anxiety disorders, which are usually prescribe to epileptics. Since I don't have epilepsy, I run the risk of suffering seizures, and I have had a few, and most of them have occured during sleep. I would imagine that the seizures could occur, just based on my experiences, but I am no expert. Also, I am not sure that it is designated to one specific side of the brain, but when I have a lot of health issues, I always search online for an information page of the ailment in question, I always find very helpful information.

seizures can occurr when awake or asleep, the part of the brain affected may be different for each person, my husband has it affecting frontal lobes, in front of his ears. It can be cureable through brain surgery and treated with different medications and some times with an implanted electro stimulator.

My Wife has epilepsy and only has fits in her sleep. We have been to several specialists in london and it can only be " cured " through surgery. This depends on the reason for the epilepsy, my wife has a scar on her frontal right loab caused by her ex husband. This cannt be cured, but since we moved to southern spain her attacks have reduced from 3 or 4 a week to 1 or 2 every 6 months. The doctors say it is because of the reduced stress and less anxienty.

It can occur anytime.. The reasons why sleep deprivation provokes seizures are unclear. However, what we do know is that the sleep-wake cycle is associated with prominent changes in brain electrical activity, so seizures and the sleep-wake cycle are often clearly related. We also know that most types of seizures are affected by sleep, although the degree varies greatly from type to type and patient to patient. Further, there are hormonal changes during sleep that could possibly be related to seizures. Finally, the effects of seizures and seizure Seizure
A sudden, excessive discharge of nervous-system electrical activity that usually causes a change in behavior.Closemedicines on the quality of your sleep can make the relationship even more complicated. In this section we will explore all the different aspects of the sleep-epilepsy connection.

About 80% of people with epilepsy Epilepsy
A disorder characterized by transient but recurrent disturbances of brain function that may or may not be associated with impairment or loss of consciousness and abnormal movements or behavior.Closetreated with seizure Seizure
A sudden, excessive discharge of nervous-system electrical activity that usually causes a change in behavior.Closemedicines remain free of seizures for at least 2 years. Many never have any more seizures. The chances of becoming completely seizure-free are best if there is no known brain injury or abnormality, and if the person has a normal neurological examination and EEG.

Of adults, 50-60% will be seizure-free after using their first seizure medicine. Another 11-20% will gain seizure control using the second medication, leaving 20-30% who are still having seizures.






Epilepsy is a disorder of the central nervous system, specifically the brain.The first is that the brain works on electricity. Normally, the brain continuously generates tiny electrical impulses in an orderly pattern. These impulses travel along the network of nerve cells, called neurons, in the brain and throughout the whole body via chemical messengers called neurotransmitters. A seizure Seizure
A sudden, excessive discharge of nervous-system electrical activity that usually causes a change in behavior.Closeoccurs when the brain's nerve cells misfire and generate a sudden, uncontrolled surge of electrical activity in the brain.

Yes they can. My sister has had epilepsy since she was 5. She has a serious case affecting the left temporal lobe of her brain. it's basically fried now (she is 32 year sold today). Though her seizures have reduced since she had invasive brain surgery... she still get seizures in her sleep. Actually MORE FREQUENTLY in her sleep. And she gets grand mals (the most severe kind) in her sleep.

The part of the brain affect can very for different cases of epilepsy. In epilepsy the seizure is trigured from one section and then electrically travels- so it can effect/damage another section of the brain that is NOT the cause of the seizure.

It can be curable (if you are lucky). Age is a factor- sometimes they go away with puberty. There are strict diets that can sometimes eliminate seizures as well. My sister tried this when she was younger. They went away for a good 2 years and came back with puberty.

There is invasive surgery where the seizure causing tissue can be removed (that is of course a risky procedure with a long healing time).

There is NONINVASIVE stereotactic radiosurgery-- this is the best in my opinion if it can work for the type of elpiepsy you are referring. This is basically a kemo that targets the seizure causing brain cells and hits them with radiation destroying them. No long term studies have been completed on this yet... so there is a risk of 20 years later something bad could come up like a cancer from the radiation. But the radiation is intensely localized... I feel it would be the best way if applicable.

Otherwise there are drugs like phenobarbital... I hate these. They deteriorate the rest of your brain and have so many side effects. My sister has reduced memory now.



If this was a personal question- know you are not alone and there are options. It doesn't have to be uncontrollable or scary! If you're in New York... Dr. Doyle at NYU medical hospital is amazing... he took care of my sister.

Mine start most times when I start to go to sleep. Mine start in the Left temp. lobe. They then spread throught the whole brain. I take meds. and have a VNS device. But I still have them, not as bad as before. A site I would go to is http:// my. epilepsy.com You can find out alot there. Good Luck

it can occur. whole brain is affected. yes after taking medicine if you have 4 years of epileptic free period it is said to be cured. you can discontinue the medicine.

What is epilepsy?

Epilepsy is a disorder of the nervous system in which seizures (also called fits) or convulsions occur repeatedly in a person. These seizures are caused due to the abnormal release of an electric charge in the brain. Information between the nerve cells are transmitted in the form of electric impulses. Sometimes when these charges become too large, a seizure occurs.

Generally about 500 people in 100,000 have this disorder. In Delhi alone, about 1 lakh people suffer from epilepsy.

What are the kind of seizures?

Epileptic seizures are of several types. People with epilepsy may have predominantly one type of seizure, but the degree of the attack may vary and some may have more than one type.


Grand mal seizures (generalised tonic clonic seizures) 鈥?they are violent seizures that cause whole body convulsions. All major portions of the body are affected and the patient may lose consciousness for sometime. Breathing may stop for some time and the face may become pale. The patient may bite her cheek or tongue during the attack and may lose control over her urinary bladder. Such attacks are often preceded by a loud cry due to spasm of vocal cord.


Petit mal (absence) seizures 鈥?these are milder seizures and are characterised by a temporary loss of consciousness. Thus, the patient may just stare, stop what he/she is doing and not be aware of what others are saying. There may be repeated blinking of the eye accompanied by a sudden loss of awareness. The attack lasts 10-25 seconds and may occur several times a day. Characteristic of this absence is that the patient is not aware that she is going to get an attack and after the attack is quite normal immediately. There is another form of absence where the patient feels some warning, then is absent for some while and then would like to sleep for 5-10 minutes. This is called Atypical absence. Absence seizures were called Petit mal earlier.


Simple focal seizures 鈥?these seizures affect a particular part of the body. There are recurrent muscle contractions in that part of the body. This is usually associated with nausea, vomiting and sweating. There is no loss of consciousness. At times an attack can start focally at one part of the body and get generalised and so look like grand mal seizure. When it gets generalised the patient loses consciousness.


Complex partial seizures 鈥?these seizures are characterised by confusion and an inability to remember the last few minutes. The patient may also get a prior indication of the fit. Warnings are of different types. There may be a smell, or a sound or seeing objects which are not there. There may be a warning like a sense of fear or confusion or giddiness or a funny feeling in the stomach. The warning is followed by the fit. The fit may be like a usual grand mal or it may be unusual. The child might turn round and round, or run in some direction, or become violent. The person may not be aware of what is happening during the attack, she may not remember what happened after the attack and the attack is brief usually less than 10 minutes.


Myoclonic fit. Here there is a sudden involuntary shock like contraction of the limbs. If it affects the hands, objects appear to be thrown out and if it affects the legs the patient may fall and then get up by herself. In children it may affect the trunk and cause falling.


How is it caused?

Most cases of epilepsy are said to be idiopathic i.e. doctors cannot find a clear cause. Thus, 60% of grand mal is "idiopathic" and nearly 100% of classic absence is idiopathic. Partial seizures are always due to focal brain disease.

The ones where doctors find a cause are called symptomatic i.e. the fit is a symptom of some brain damage. Among such cases are brain tumour, strokes, head injury, cerebral infection and errors of development that are present since birth. Biochemical cause like low sugar, low calcium, very high sugar and high blood pressure, and less circulation of blood to brain may cause seizures.

Idiopathic only means that the doctors are unable to locate the exact cause. However, the cause may be genetic or development abnormalities which are at microscope levels and cannot be seen by the MRI Scan.

What are the symptoms?

Seizures of any of the above type are the main symptoms of epilepsy. Epilepsy in most cases is also associated with some intellectual impairment, though it is not always present. During the seizure, there may also be frothing at the mouth and rolling back of the eyes.

How is it diagnosed?

Epilepsy is essentially diagnosed by taking a careful history of what happens during an attack. This is best taken from one who has observed the attack. It is only rarely that a doctor can see an attack but if he does he should be able to diagnose. The two conditions which are most likely to be confused are faints (which are brief losses of consciousness with no jerking and which are known to come under certain circumstances) and a patient who is faking a fit to try and gain sympathy, attention etc. The EEG is a record of the electrical activity of the brain and is often helpful but as the record lasts only 15-30 minutes, it may be normal in a patient whose fits are uncommon (1 EEG is normal in 30-40% of epileptics).

Once a diagnosis of epilepsy is made one tries to find a cause either by history or by tests. A CT Scan or MRI is very useful to look for a structural lesion. Blood tests may find biochemical causes low sugar, low calcium etc. Examination of the cerebro-spinal fluid is done if infection is thought to be the cause. In India, one infection particularly known to cause epilepsy is cysticercosis. It often shows a small ring like lesion on the CT Scan or MRI.

What is the treatment?

Epilepsy may be treated with the help of anti-convulsant drugs like phenytoin, sodium valporate, phenobarbitone, carbamazepine, lamotrigine, gabapentin and topiramate. The patient may be able to identify certain materials (which might be some food products) that aggravate the symptoms of the condition. The use of such materials called triggers, must be avoided. The seizures may also be minimized or stopped by treating the underlying cause such as removal of a brain tumour.

With the use of one drug, given in proper dose and gradually increased, 65% of all epileptics can be controlled. By adding a second drug and sometimes a third, upto 80% of cases can be fully controlled. For the remaining there are now newer drugs e.g. clobazam, tamotrigene, Vigabatrine.

For myoclonic epilepsy, absence and idiopathic grand mal Sodium Valproate is the most commonly used drug. For focal epilepsy phenytoin and carbamezapine is the first choice drug. Phenobarbitone is a cheap and very effective drug and is the mainstay at our Public Health Centers.

Surgery may be useful in some partial epilepsies. The important thing in treatment is that drug be continued for 3 years after the last fit and then slowly tapered. Stopping after 6 months - 2 years is a cause of relapse and leads the patient to believe there is no effective treatment and then he seeks other medicines and faith healers. The drugs are very useful if well used.

What first aid can be provided?

In case a patient is having an epileptic seizure, the following should be done to provide relief:


The patient should be made to lie down in a comfortable position on her side, so that the saliva can flow out of the side of the mouth and the person does not gag.

All the clothing of the patient must be loosened so that she is able to breathe easily.

No hard object like a spoon should be inserted in the mouth of the patient. To prevent her from biting her tongue, she can be made to clamp her teeth on a piece of cloth or a handkerchief.

The person should not be made to drink water or any other liquid during the seizure as she may choke.

If the patient falls asleep immediately after the seizure, she should be allowed to rest and not be made to move or walk. In simple terms a fit will subside by itself in 1-10 minutes and the attendant only needs to see that the patient does not hurt himself. After the attack is over she should see a doctor or if she is already a known epileptic she should take an extra dose of his usual medicine as the occurrence of a fit implies the dose is inadequate.