Common Causes Of Epilepsy

Injury Before Birth

Injury before birth is another cause of epilepsy. Anything that can damage the brain can cause epilepsy, and a baby’s head and brain are particularly delicate before birth, during birth and during the first few weeks of life. Common causes of injury before birth or during birth include disorders affecting the placenta, oxygen deprivation, infections of the brain, head trauma, and abnormally difficult labor. Signs of injury before or during birth can include pale or bluish coloring, lethargy, trouble feeding or breathing, and abnormal heart rate. If the doctor suspects the baby may have a seizure disorder, they can perform tests like an encephalogram (EEG), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or a computed tomography (CT) scan to look for signs of seizure activity in the brain.

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Brain Conditions

Epilepsy is most common in small children and older adults. New cases of epilepsy decline after the age of ten and then pick up again after around fifty-five. Older adults are susceptible to brain conditions like Alzheimer’s disease, strokes, and brain tumors, which can all cause epilepsy. Strokes, in fact, are the most common causes of seizures in older patients. Patients who start having seizures a month or longer after the initial stroke have a greater risk of developing epilepsy. Some developmental disorders, such as neurofibromatosis or autism, can be associated with epilepsy. For example, about a third of individuals with autism also have epilepsy.

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