{"id":506,"date":"2025-07-03T12:23:49","date_gmt":"2025-07-03T12:23:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/manaakihealthcare.com\/et\/uncategorized\/what-is-epilepsy\/"},"modified":"2025-09-13T14:18:33","modified_gmt":"2025-09-13T14:18:33","slug":"what-is-epilepsy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/manaakihealthcare.com\/et\/cancer\/what-is-epilepsy\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Epilepsy?"},"content":{"rendered":"

What Is Epilepsy?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Epilepsy is a chronic brain condition that causes recurrent, unprovoked seizures. Seizures happen when electrical activity in the brain becomes abnormal, disrupting communication between nerve cells.<\/p>\n

Epilepsy can affect people of all ages, though it\u2019s most commonly diagnosed in children and older adults. Causes include genetic factors, brain injury, infections, stroke, or unknown reasons (idiopathic epilepsy).<\/p>\n

Types of Epileptic Seizures<\/strong>
\nSeizures are generally classified into two main categories:<\/p>\n

1. Focal (Partial) Seizures
\nThese begin in one specific part of the brain and may or may not affect awareness.<\/p>\n

Focal aware seizures: The person is conscious and aware but may have strange sensations or movements.<\/p>\n

Focal impaired-awareness seizures: Involves confusion or loss of awareness, often with automatic behaviors like lip-smacking or wandering.<\/p>\n

2. Generalized Seizures
\nThese involve both sides of the brain and typically cause loss of consciousness.<\/p>\n

Tonic-clonic seizures (formerly \u201cgrand mal\u201d): Stiffening, shaking, and loss of consciousness.<\/p>\n

Absence seizures (\u201cpetit mal\u201d): Brief moments of staring or unresponsiveness, common in children.<\/p>\n

Myoclonic seizures: Sudden, brief muscle jerks.<\/p>\n

Atonic seizures: Sudden loss of muscle tone, often leading to falls.<\/p>\n

Some people experience mixed seizure types, making diagnosis and treatment more complex.<\/p>\n

How Is Epilepsy Diagnosed?<\/strong>
\nDiagnosis includes a combination of:
\nMedical history and seizure description
\nNeurological exams
\nElectroencephalogram (EEG) to measure brain activity
\nMRI or CT scans to identify underlying brain abnormalities<\/p>\n

At Manaaki Healthcare, our neurology specialists use advanced diagnostic tools to determine the type and cause of epilepsy, enabling personalized treatment planning.<\/p>\n

Treatment Options for Epilepsy<\/strong>
\nEpilepsy is treatable in most people, especially with early and consistent care.<\/p>\n

1. Medications (Anti-Epileptic Drugs)
\nFirst-line treatment for most patients<\/p>\n

Help control seizures in up to 70% of people<\/p>\n

Choice of medication depends on seizure type, age, and overall health<\/p>\n

2. Surgical Options
\nFor drug-resistant epilepsy (when medications don\u2019t work)<\/p>\n

Involves removing or altering the part of the brain causing seizures<\/p>\n

May significantly reduce or eliminate seizures<\/p>\n

3. Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS)
\nA small device implanted under the skin sends signals to the brain to help prevent seizures<\/p>\n

4. Ketogenic Diet
\nA high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet shown to reduce seizures in some children and adults<\/p>\n

Should be supervised by a medical team<\/p>\n

5. Lifestyle and Supportive Care
\nAdequate sleep, stress reduction, and avoiding seizure triggers<\/p>\n

Regular check-ups to monitor treatment effectiveness<\/p>\n

Education and emotional support for patients and families<\/p>\n

Living with Epilepsy<\/strong>
\nWith the right treatment and support, most people with epilepsy can lead full, independent lives. Education, early intervention, and community awareness are essential to reduce stigma and improve outcomes.<\/p>\n

At Manaaki Healthcare, we provide comprehensive epilepsy care, including:<\/p>\n

Neurological evaluations<\/p>\n

Medication management<\/p>\n

Patient and caregiver education<\/p>\n

Long-term support for seizure control and quality of life<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What Is Epilepsy? Epilepsy is a chronic brain condition that causes recurrent, unprovoked seizures. Seizures happen when electrical activity in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":555,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,21,30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cancer","category-liver-cancer","category-treatment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/manaakihealthcare.com\/et\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/506","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/manaakihealthcare.com\/et\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/manaakihealthcare.com\/et\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/manaakihealthcare.com\/et\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/manaakihealthcare.com\/et\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=506"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/manaakihealthcare.com\/et\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/506\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":556,"href":"https:\/\/manaakihealthcare.com\/et\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/506\/revisions\/556"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/manaakihealthcare.com\/et\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/manaakihealthcare.com\/et\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=506"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/manaakihealthcare.com\/et\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=506"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/manaakihealthcare.com\/et\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}