Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that affects the normal activity of your brain and causes repeated seizures. People confuse epilepsy with seizure, in this article we get to know about the difference between epilepsy and seizure.

Epilepsy vs Seizure

Definition:

Epilepsy:

Epilepsy is defined as a neurological condition in which the normal activity of your brain is affected. It is a general term for repeated (recurring) seizures.

Seizure:

A seizure is a temporary disturbance in the electrical functions of the brain. Two or more episodes of seizure 24 hours apart are considered epilepsy.

Risk Factors or causes:

Risk factors are those factors that increase the risk of certain diseases. People who don’t have these risk factors can still develop a seizure.

Epilepsy:

Following are the factors that may increase the risk of epilepsy in a person:

  • Family history (positive family history increases the chance of having epilepsy)
  • Age (epilepsy can occur in any age group, but it is more common in extremes of ages i.e. children and older people).
  • Blood vessel or vascular diseases or bleeding problems
  • Stroke
  • Brain tumors
  • Head injuries
  • Deficiency of oxygen to the brain
  • Drugs (for example cocaine) or alcohol abuse
  • Infections of the brain (for example viral encephalitis, meningitis, etc)
  • Dementia or Alzheimer’s disease (older individuals are more prone to this risk factor)
  • Following are the factors that can increase the risk of epilepsy in children (for example baby having a seizure at the first month of life, small size baby at the time of birth, high fever in babies causing seizures, insufficiency of oxygen during birth).

Seizures:

Risk factors for seizures are the same as for epilepsy. Seizure is a symptom of epilepsy so risk factors for seizure and epilepsy are almost the same. For example:

  • Age
  • Family history positive
  • Head injuries or traumas
  • Stroke
  • Brain infections etc.

Types:

Epilepsy:

Following are the different types of epilepsy:

  • Unknown epilepsy
  • Focal epilepsy
  • Generalized epilepsy
  • Combined epilepsy (focal plus generalized epilepsy).

Seizure:

Following are the different types of seizures:

  • Unknown seizure
  • Focal (partial) seizure (simple partial, complex partial, partial with secondary generalization)
  • Generalized seizure (tonic seizure, clonic seizure, tonic clonic seizure, myoclonic, seizure, atonic seizure, absence seizure).

Sing and Symptoms or Clinical Presentation:

Signs and symptoms may vary depending on the type of epilepsy or seizure. Most common presentation of epilepsy or seizure are the following.

Epilepsy:

Following are the common sign and symptoms of epilepsy:

  • Fits (involuntary jerky movements of legs and arms)
  • Confusion for a short period of time
  • Lacking awareness
  • Stiff muscles
  • Blankly staring at one point.

Seizure:

Symptoms for seizure and epilepsy are alike for example fits, muscle spasms, confusion, lacking awareness, etc.

Investigations or Lab Tests:

To diagnose and rule out the cause or/ and site or/ and type of the disease your doctor will suggest some lab tests (investigations).

Epilepsy:

Following are the investigations to diagnose epilepsy:

  • History (A detailed history taking is most important to diagnose epilepsy)
  • Blood tests (serum glucose, magnesium, sodium, and calcium)
  • Electroencephalogram (EEG)
  • Brain imaging (it includes computerized tomography (CT Scan), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI Brain), single photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT), and positron emission tomography (PET))
  • Lumbar puncture ((LP) to rule out the brain infection)
  • Neuropsychological Assessment.

Seizure:

Investigations for seizures are similar to epilepsy for example history taking, blood tests, EEG, CT scan, MRI brain, SPECT, PET LP, etc.

Treatment:

Epilepsy:

Treatment options for epilepsy are as follows:

  • Anti epileptic drugs (Carbamazepine, sodium valproate, topiramate)
  • Surgery (In uncontrollable cases surgery is indicated)
  • Deep brain stimulation (DBS)
  • Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS)
  • Life style changes (ketogenic diet, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), enough sleep, and physical activity (exercise))
  • First aid (lay the person on the ground and gently turn him onto his side, remove the things around the person to prevent injury, remove things on the person’s head like sunglasses or around the neck like a chain, place something soft under the head of the person, do not put something in his mouth, if it lasts more than 5 minutes or is followed by another episode of fit then seek emergency treatment).

Seizure:

Treatment options for seizure are also almost the same as epilepsy for example

  • Anti convulsant drugs
  • Surgery
  • DBS
  • VNS
  • Life style changes
  • First aid

Complications:

Epilepsy:

Complications of epilepsy are as follows:

  • Learning difficulty
  • Injuries due to falls
  • Aspiration pneumonia (due to breathing in saliva during a seizure)

Seizure:

Most common complication of seizure is the progression of seizure to epilepsy other may include dangerous injuries due to falls.

Conclusion:

Concluding the above discussion seizure is a single event while epilepsy is a recurrent event. According to WHO, 70% of people suffering from epilepsy can live seizure free life if appropriately diagnosed and treated.