WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) – November is National Epilepsy Awareness Month, aiming to raise awareness of the condition that affects approximately 3 million American adults.

Novant Health’s Dr. Christine Tangredi spoke with WECT about the disease, how it’s treated, and how symptoms may not be what most people expect.

“So when we use the term epilepsy, it can also be used synonymously with seizure disorders, which basically describes seizures,” Dr. Tangredi said. “So people with epilepsy have these random, unprovoked seizures. And what a seizure is is an abnormal electrical discharge in the brain. The brain is therefore supposed to process information, form memories, form speech and language, and develop.

“And when you have these abnormal electrical discharges, your brain will not function properly, nor normally nor healthily. This is why it is so important to treat epilepsy, so that the brain can continue to function normally. »

Seizures can also be different depending on age, according to Dr. Tangredi. For example, seizures in an infant may appear as if they are stretching or blinking, whereas an adolescent may simply stare.

It is important to understand that not all seizures are violent episodes that most people attribute them to.

“Fortunately, seizures can be treated in a variety of ways,” added Dr. Tangredi. “We have a wide variety of medications, and new ones come out every year that have fewer side effects. For people who do not respond well to medications, there are special diets, such as the ketogenic diet, a diet very high in fat and low in carbohydrates.

“There are devices surgically implanted in the chest, called vagal nerve stimulators, that deliver a current to the brain, and then you’re armed with an actual magnet to sweep across the chest to stop a seizure. And then, if the seizures are really severe, you can do surgical removal of the seizure focus in the brain.

The full interview can be found at the top of this story.

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