Epilepsy in children is one of the most common neurological diseases. In childhood, this disease occurs in 3-4% of the total population. The manifestations of epilepsy, prognosis, and also approaches to therapy have significant differences. There are benign and malignant forms of the disease. The first pass independently and do not require treatment. Malignant forms have a progressive course, and treatment is often ineffective. Epileptic seizures in early childhood are atypical, the clinical picture is characterized by the absence of clear symptoms, which do not correspond to changes in the encephalogram.
Epilepsy in children implies the presence of characteristic repetitive, unprovoked seizures, the basis of which is the electric charge of neurons in the brain, which is characterized by high synchronism.
There are a large number of forms of the disease. Absolute epilepsy in children is distinguished as a separate species , which is characterized by a severe clinical course and severe complications.
All seizures begin with a loss of consciousness, which occurs suddenly, stiffness of the skeletal muscles of the body and limbs, respiratory arrest, dilated pupils. After this, after thirty seconds, a typical attack of tonic-clonic seizures follows. It is characterized by rhythmic twitching of the arms, legs, neck, head, significant sweating, salivation. Due to the cessation of breathing, the face becomes cyanotic (bluish). Sometimes there is a bite of the tongue, involuntary urination. In total, forty types of seizures in children are distinguished, which have different clinical symptoms, prognosis, and also approaches to therapy. However, it is customary to divide the disease into three types: generalized (both hemispheres take part in the process), focal (the seizure originates from a certain part of the brain), undifferentiated (all modern diagnostic methods do not allow these cases to be attributed to the first two types).
Epilepsy in children requires an accurate diagnosis, since the effectiveness of therapy depends on this, as well as the prognosis of the subsequent course of the disease. To confirm epilepsy, an electroencephalography of the brain is performed, which fixes the electric charges produced by the body. They also carry out additional loads - hyperventilation, photostimulation, sleep deprivation. Often there is a need for re-examination to make the correct diagnosis (epilepsy in infants). Significantly improves the diagnosis of EEG-video monitoring, which includes the simultaneous recording of an EEG and video surveillance of the patient. A rather good result is obtained by computed and magnetic resonance and positron emission tomography.
Epilepsy in children is based on the principle of gradual drug remission, which will subsequently be accompanied by a gradual withdrawal of drugs. Thus, a reduction in clinical symptoms is achieved and a normal standard of living is ensured.
The main stages of the treatment of the disease: the detection and elimination of the causes of seizures, the relief of all provoking factors, the most accurate diagnosis, the selection of adequate medicines for treatment. It is also necessary to resolve the issue of further education and social issues. The most important step is the determination of agents for the treatment of epileptic seizures. For these purposes, antiepileptic drugs are used, which include levitiracetam, topiramate, tiagabin, felbamate, gabapentin, lamotrigine, oxacarbazepine, vigabatrin.