Written By: Satata Karmakar | Published : March 28, 2023 9:17 AM IST
Responsive neurostimulation implants, designed to detect and interrupt seizures in real time, showcase remarkable outcomes in clinical trials. These implants hold potential for patients unresponsive to traditional treatments, offering a personalized and dynamic approach to epilepsy management.
Epilepsy can significantly affect a patient's quality of life. An epileptic person's day could consist of sudden seizures, spaced-out moments, and strange sensations. These episodes could occur suddenly and continue anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes, putting the patient's life at risk. We spoke to Dr Satwant Singh Sachdeva, Senior Consultant Neurology, Manipal Hospital Patiala, to understand more about the relationship between the two, and how the onset of this condition can be prevented with some easy lifestyle changes.
Epilepsy is a neurological impairment in which brain activity changes abnormally, causing the individual to feel twitching sensations and seizure attacks where they lose all sense of balance and awareness. Epilepsy can have a prominent impact on the overall health of the individual, including their brain health and memory.
Here's all you need to know about how epilepsy impacts the memory of a patient:
During a seizure attack, either a part of the brain or the whole brain experiences the impact. Any type of seizure, whether partial or full, can have an impact on the person's memory. This can be experienced more if the seizures are focused on the frontal lobes of the brain, which are responsible for holding past memories. The impact and memory loss increase if the seizures are more frequent and intense.
It can be difficult to be aware of where you are or what you were doing before the attack took place. The memories of the day and actions might seem blurry as the brain tries to recuperate from the episode. If the person has seizures focused on the frontal or temporal lobes of the brain, then they may have trouble with their memory.
Many patients on anti-epileptic drugs experience lethargy and a lack of concentration. The risk of memory loss increases with higher doses of varied anti-epileptic drugs. Therefore, patients must discuss the risk with their doctor before starting a medical course.
Epilepsy patients develop Alzheimer's disease due to neurogenerative processes that happen because of seizures. The other way around is also possible, where epilepsy seizures could start due to Alzheimer's.
Some types of memory gaps are more likely to occur in epilepsy patients, such as numerical details of an event or certain words. Names and numbers may be difficult for patients to recall. Other symptoms of epilepsy other than seizures, like confusion and haziness, spacing out, uncontrollable twitching of limbs, loss of awareness, and feelings of fear and anxiety, have impacted the brain over the years. Epilepsy is an uncurable condition and can only be managed or suppressed with lifestyle modifications and medications. This makes preventing epilepsy even more critical. Epileptic seizures can be life-threatening if they occur at the wrong time, such as while crossing a road. So here are a few ways to prevent the onset of epilepsy:
In this manner, epilepsy itself can be kept in check, and the chances of memory loss are also prevented. Here are some ways to help with memory loss as an epilepsy patient:
More than half of the people with epilepsy are successfully able to manage their symptoms and lead a normal life. People can continue to live healthily and worry-free with the correct medical consultation and by carrying safety gear with them.
