Medicine has many conditions and diseases that are similar to each other. And it is sometimes difficult for an inexperienced person to understand all this. That is why in this article I want to talk about such a problem as the episindrome. What is it and how does this condition differ from epilepsy.
Terminology
Initially, you need to understand what exactly will be discussed later. So, episindrome: what is it and what are the features of this state? Correctly speaking, episindrome is the short name for symptomatic epilepsy. In fact, this is not an independent disease, but a consequence of a certain ailment. It is called so solely because it has many similar symptoms with a disease such as epilepsy.
What is epilepsy? So, this is a neuropsychic disease of a chronic nature. It is characterized by special mental changes, as well as bouts of seizures. A very serious disease that requires constant medication and regular visits to doctors.
Differences
Considering diseases such as episindrome and epilepsy, what is the difference between these problems is what is important to talk about. After all, although they are similar in symptomatology to the disease, but, nevertheless, they differ significantly. In short and simple terms, the episindrome is a problem that is easier and easier than epilepsy. Symptoms may be similar, but all the signs appear to varying degrees. Also, one should not forget that the episindrome is a consequence of a previously diagnosed disease, and epilepsy is an independent disease, which, moreover, affects the neuropsychic system. But that is not all. We further consider diseases such as episindrome and epilepsy. What is the difference between these problems yet? So, doctors say that in the first case, the problem is acquired after a previous illness. In the second case, epilepsy is often a congenital problem, although it can also be acquired.
About epilepsy
First, I want to pay a little attention to such a problem as epilepsy (the episindrome will be considered a little later). So, it should be noted that this is a chronic disease of the brain, which is characterized by seizures. The first symptoms can occur in early childhood (5-7 years) or in adolescence (12-13 years) in case of a congenital disease. In this scenario, the disease is well treated and the patient may completely refuse to take the pills over time. With secondary epilepsy (a different type of disease) that develops as a result of an injury, illness, infection, or other cause, treatment may be more difficult. And it is far from always possible to cope with the problem completely.
Episyndrome: causes
So the episindrome. What it is? As mentioned above, this is symptomatic epilepsy. That is, a person begins to suffer from attacks, which, however, are provoked by a completely different disease. After getting rid of the root cause, these attacks simply disappear. The causes of this ailment can be very different:
- Traumatic brain injuries.
- Tumors or other brain damage.
- Various birth injuries, including hypoxia (lack of oxygen).
- Fainting conditions.
- Various diseases, such as hippocampal sclerosis (death of neurons) or collapse (acute cardiovascular failure).
Symptoms of episindrome
How does the episindrom manifest? Symptoms for this problem are focal. That is, the manifestations of the disease depend on where exactly the affected area is.
Episyndrome frontal. In this case, the attacks will be accompanied by the following conditions:
- In a patient, limbs can sharply strain and stretch.
- The patient may involuntarily smack, chew, roll his eyes. Inadvertently salivation may occur.
- There may be a painful and sharp contraction of the muscles of the limbs or face.
- Sometimes there are aromatic hallucinations.
Temporal episindrome. In this case, the disease manifests itself as follows:
- Hallucinations of vision, smell, hearing may occur.
- There are jumps in mood from euphoric sensations to dysphoria.
- Obsessive thoughts, sleepwalking, and deja vu sensation may torment patients.
The parietal episindrome is characterized by the following conditions:
- Patients often complain of numbness in certain areas of the body.
- There is a violation of consciousness, fading of gaze.
- Sometimes there is disorientation and dizziness.
Symptoms of Epilepsy
How does a chronic disease such as epilepsy manifest itself? With this disease, scientists distinguish a whole complex of symptoms:
- Mental disorders. This can be either dizziness or a complete loss of consciousness, amnesia, autonomic disorders, psychoses.
- Personality changes. The character, way of thinking changes, emotional disorders can occur, memory and intelligence decrease, the mood and mood change.
Symptoms of this disease are actually very, very many. However, they all affect the personality of a person, changing it. In the case of episindrome, this occurs in a very small fraction.
About children
It is very important to timely diagnose epilepsy or episindrome in children. For this reason, the guys need to be closely monitored not only at home, but also in educational institutions. So, with the first symptoms of a child, you need to be sent for examination. And if seizures (convulsions, fainting) “tell” about the episindrome, then epilepsy is a more dangerous and serious disease when changes in personality characteristics and mental processes occur. So, the first alarming indicators of epilepsy in children are as follows:
- It can be both restlessness and increased activity, and a completely opposite state - inertness and lethargy.
- Children can be inherent negativity, stubbornness.
- Often the guys become cruel, their behavior is adjacent to the sadistic.
- The actions of children are destructive, aggressive. They can be directed not only at others, but also at oneself (auto-aggression).
It is also important to note that if children with an episindrome can study in general educational institutions, then in most cases with epilepsy, children require home education.
Diagnostics
It should also be noted that the diagnosis of “episindrome” is not final. This is a particle of the general diagnosis, a complex of symptoms. So to cope with the problem is possible only if the root cause is excluded. How can an episindrome be diagnosed? There are two main and most informative methods for this today:
- CT The basis is the use of x-rays. However, it differs from x-ray in higher quality of the obtained image.
- MRI In this case, the human body is not exposed to radiation. A strong magnetic field works here.
These methods help the doctor identify himself with a diagnosis and rule out other brain damage. But the electroencephalogram is able not only to fix the seizures themselves, but also to determine the place of their localization.
Treatment
Considering a problem such as episindrome, treatment is what I also want to talk about. It is worth noting that it begins only after a repetition of the attack and the correct diagnosis. Important: therapy should proceed only under the supervision of a doctor. Self-medication in this case is unacceptable. So, among medications, doctors most often prescribe the drug “Carbamazepine” or “Valproate”. The dosage may increase due to the lack of therapeutic effect. If after a month there is no improvement, the doctor can add more drugs such as Topiramat, Lamotrigine, Levetiracetam. This treatment should help. If, after the last attack for five years, the person did not experience a return of the problem or an aggravation of the condition, then the administration of medications can be completed.
Simple conclusions
Considering problems such as epilepsy and episindrome (what it is, described above), it should be noted that these are very serious diseases. Cope with them alone will not succeed. Moreover, the treatment will be very long and can take most of the life. However, do not despair. People with similar problems can normally socialize and benefit society. But only with adequate treatment.