
Focal seizures — also regarded as partial seizures — occur when there is an electric discharge in a specific part of the brain and is characterized by a sudden outbreak of epileptic movements, such as uncontrollable facial movements, numbing sensation, and muscle inconsistency in terms of involuntary movement.
Focal seizures either affect a specific area of the brain or spread havoc in toto for the brain. As mentioned, a seizure can appear unexpectedly for people; however, it is predominantly evident in those, who have a medical history to display signs of congenital epilepsy, stroke, or are prone to frequent migraine attacks.
Types of Seizures
There are two types of seizure that occur in humans: (1) Simple; and (2) Complex focal seizures. When a focal seizure strikes, the individual may or may not remain conscious. When the person is aware of what is happening, the individual is said to be enduring a simple seizure. If these seizures continue to bother the individual, it may cause the individual to experience muscle spasms, numbness, and nausea, thereby causing vision impairment. This may also result in frequent episodes of palpitations, hallucinations, and difficulty in articulating sentences. A simple partial seizure occurs predominantly in children. Simple focal seizures in children may not involve the child losing consciousness; however, there are some cases where the child may fall unconscious, hence requiring treatment. Partial seizures in children in the age group of 3 to 13 are bound to disappear, when the child grows and thereby falls in the age group of 14 to 16.
In a complex focal seizure, the individual falls unconscious and may not remember the moment during which the seizure occurred. The individual may lose control over his body movements and chances are high that the individual may black out totally during the seizure. The time period within which the seizures take place, ranges anywhere between a couple of seconds to five minutes.
Causes of Focal Seizures
Occurrence of Seizures after a Stroke
A cerebrovascular accident, also known as CVA, is one factor that causes seizures in adults. Majority of people who have endured a stroke, later develop seizures. This type of seizure and its intensity displays as to which part of the cerebral cortex has been affected. If the eye starts to twitch, there are probabilities that the frontal cortex is affected, thus causing seizures. If the hand or the leg muscles start to convulse, it has to be understood that a part responsible for controlling the leg or hand movements is affected, hence causing the seizure.
Congenital Defect
Congenital epilepsy is caused, when abnormal tissues in the brain pile up and is often the primary cause of seizures continuing well after the child has grown and has passed the age of 14. This type of epileptic seizure appears during childhood and refuses to cease when the child steps into adulthood.
Brain Tumor
A focal seizure in adults can also indicate the occurrence of brain tumors. It could thus be a primary symptom of brain tumor that could be originating from the brain cells, and secondary that has its originate points in the brain from another part of the body that is affected.
Bacterial infections or the intake of certain long-term drugs could prove to be other causative. If you have been diagnosed with seizures that re-appear in the due course of time, consulting a medical practitioner is very important.
Symptoms
A focal seizure affects only one part of the brain. Thus, the part that gets affected shows discrepancies. Generally, the focal seizure tends to affect the same side of the brain over and over again. Therefore, there are certain symptoms that help identify the palpability of the seizure.
- Loss of consciousness during a complex focal seizure, resulting in temporary lapse of memory with no instance or occurrence being recorded before, during, and after the seizure
- Muscle contractions; jerking of the arm or the leg muscles
- Involuntary movements of the mouth and flexing the tongue
- Losing balance, feeling dizzy and experiencing hallucination
- Tingling sensation in the affected site of the body with truncated vision
- Repetitive and involuntary motion of the lips, and repeating a phrase without apparent reason
- Experiencing a sudden gush of elation or contrition; uncontrollable laughter or sobbing is observed
Diagnosis
Thorough diagnosis in cases of partial or focal seizures is difficult to obtain. An electroencephalogram (EEG) is conducted to decipher as to which part of the brain is enduring an abnormal electrical pattern. An abnormal EEG will report the intensity of seizures. However, it is seen that patients who have a recurrence of focal seizures reportedly have normal EEG reports in between. Nevertheless, besides an EEG, garnering a detailed account of the incidents, their frequency, and intensity are inquired by the practitioner, considering inputs from those, who have witnessed the occurrence. A complete medical history will also be analyzed to derive whether there was any injury to the brain that occurred at birth or prior to the time when the seizures first began. This is followed by physical examination that aids in drawing some illative conclusion to the discrepancy.
Blood tests coupled with EEG could also help the practitioner diagnose the reason and curb future events. If infection is detected to be a causative for seizure recurrence, the individual may have to continue with an antibiotic course. If brain tumor is one factor that causes seizures, it has to be surgically removed.
Treatment
To control focal or partial seizures, prescribing anti-seizure medication is the first step toward treating the condition. Phenytoin, valproate, topiramate or tiagabine are some of the prescribed medicines. Dizziness, temporary distortion of vision, weight gain, and fatigue are a few of its noted side effects. Besides medication, the Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS) implant is far effective a treatment for focal seizures, given that medication may not work for a few patients. An implant is placed near the chest that transmits electrical impulses to the vagus nerve at an interval of few minutes. Surgery is another form of treatment method used to reduce the frequency of focal seizures. Electroencephalography and other imaging techniques are used to conduct the surgery. In cases where children have been the victims of seizures, the ketogenic diet has been found helpful; i.e., a diet rich in fat while keeping the intake of carbohydrate under control is followed.
Prevention
One very effective, yet understated preventive measure is to consume your medication religiously. Do not discontinue your medication just because you have started to feel better. Being regular with your medication is the key to continual improvement. Tone down your stress levels, avoid alcohol, and even an occasional smoke. A good sleep is but a necessity to avert seizures. Thus, whatever be the cause, ample sleep, exercise routines and a good diet maintenance can contribute in controlling and curbing the occurrence of seizures.
Remember, your health is one factor that you, by no means, could afford to ignore. Attend to the condition promptly, and give your health the much-deserved care.
Disclaimer: The article published herein, is meant to accomplish pedagogical purposes only. The recommendations mentioned hereby, may not be generically applicable. The information, by no means, intends to supplant the diagnosis and advice imparted by the medical practitioner.