Catamenial Epilepsy

Catamenial epilepsy is a kind of epilepsy which is experienced by women, in which seizures occur when a woman has her monthly menstrual cycle. Another form of catamenial epilepsy is when the number of seizures increases, just before a woman's menstruation or during the menstruation or when the process of ovulation takes place in her. Let us understand this in detail, by knowing about its causes, symptoms, kinds of catamenial epileptic seizures and treatments.

Causes

Catamenial epilepsy occurs in women due to the fluctuations in the two hormones, i.e. estrogen and progesterone inside a woman's body, when she is ovulating or is having her periods. The hormone estrogen is believed to facilitate seizures while progesterone is known to protect the individual against them. The hormone estrogen, has proconvulsant properties, and that is why it exerts excitatory effect on the neurons. In women, who suffer from epilepsy and have seizures, intravenous administration of the joined estrogens stimulates the epileptiform discharges, causing seizures. On the other hand, progesterone has anti-convulsive properties and when its levels become low, seizures are experienced.

Symptoms and Types

Catamenial epilepsy produces three kinds of seizures, namely generalized, simple partial and complex partial seizures. Here are the symptoms associated with each of these.

Generalized Seizures
Generalized seizures affect the entire brain. The generalized seizures entail a sudden break in awareness, that ends suddenly too, accompanied by twitching in the facial muscles and eyelids, which lasts only for a few seconds. Atonic generalized seizures involve loss of muscle tone, resulting in sudden collapse of the parts of the body and sometimes even the entire body. Myoclonic generalized seizures accompany sudden jerk like movements as well as muscle contractions. Tonic generalized clonic seizures begin with the stiffening of the limbs, the person collapsing, accompanied by jerking of the muscles.

Simple Partial Seizures
Simple partial seizures affect only a small brain part. Symptoms vary from patient to patient. Such seizures begin suddenly and last for a very less time. If a person is awake while experiencing a simple partial seizure, he will remain conscious and experience uncontrolled shaking movements, emotions and feelings.

Complex Partial Seizures
Complex partial seizures affect only a particular side of the brain, i.e. they are one sided. They entail loss of awareness, an inability to react to external stimuli. The seizure starts with the person giving a blank stare, moving and making repetitive motions. The person who experiences such a seizure does not remember it after the seizure has stopped.

Treatment

Although, hormonal replacement therapy was considered as one of the prime treatment for catamenial epilepsy, yet researches have shown that it can have a negative effect and might even increase the number of seizures in women. So these days, anti seizure medication, along with therapies such as progesterone therapy is used for the treatment.

Pregnancy can be very complicated for women with catamenial epilepsy. Usually, doctors recommend certain prenatal vitamins and a diet, which is high in folic acid, to eliminate any risk to the baby.

Catamenial epilepsy is a chronic neurological condition faced by women, which produces never ending recurrent seizures in them. Although, completely treating it is not possible, yet with certain anti seizure medications and therapies, it can be kept in check and its symptoms minimized.