Seizures - Causes of Seizures

Scientifically speaking, seizures are defined to be sudden alterations in the behavior of a person or an animal due to malfunctioning of the brain. According to reports, it is said that about two to three percent people in the United States encounter the problem of seizures in their mid seventies. Read more on seizures in adults.

Seizures are not age specific and can affect people of all age groups. However, they are most commonly observed in infants below the age of 2 and elderly people that have crossed the 60s. Let us know more about the seizures and their types.

Seizures are of two types. The first one is the generalized seizure and the second one is partial seizure. Let us understand the different types of seizures in details.

Generalized Seizures

Generalized seizures do have a potential to affect the whole body of the person, as they affect the entire brain. They are again classified into four main types.

• Atonic Seizure: Amongst all the four types in the generalized seizures, atonic seizures are the most minor ones. These are mainly caused due to slight and temporary malfunctioning in the brain. These seizures can lead to loss of muscle control in the person.
• Absence Seizure: In this type of seizures, the bodily functions suddenly get interrupted and this can lead into continuous staring without twitching.
• Myoclonic Seizures: Such type of seizures are characterized by contraction of body muscles on both the sides of the body.
• Tonic Clonic Seizures: These are the most widely found seizures. Tonic and clonic are actually two stages of this seizure. In the tonic stage, a person encounters breathing problems such as difficulty in breathing or decreased breathing resulting into blueing of the face. In the clonic stage, the person normally starts breathing, but there is still an irregularity in the breathing pattern. The clonic stage usually lasts for a minute or so.

Partial Seizures

Partial seizures unlike their generalized counterparts are confined to a single part of the brain. These are electrical disturbances in any one part of the brain and are generally found to be affecting people suffering from epilepsy. Partial seizures are believed to be the result of a tumor, brain infection or a head injury. However, researches to know the exact cause of partial seizures are still in progress.

Seizures Causes

Some of the common causes of seizures have been mentioned below.

Aging
One of the most common seizure causes is aging. This is because, the physical ability and the control over bodily movements generally starts decreasing after the age of 60-65. Therefore, diseases such as Parkinson's disease, dementia etc make way in the body and further results in seizures.

Head Injury
Head injury of a severe type, either in the early childhood or adulthood is believed to be a potential cause of seizure disorders.

Subarachnoid Hemorrhage
This is among the other common seizures causes. Subarachnoid Hemorrhage is characterized by bleeding in the brain, which further poses an adverse effect on the brain and loss over body movements and finally results into seizures.

Diseases and Disorders
Serious diseases such as meningitis, kidney failure and brain tumors have also been found to be resulting in seizures.

Sudden Withdrawals
Seizures can occur if a person suddenly quits heavy consumption of alcohol or smoking or other addictive drugs. These drugs bring about many changes in the nervous system of the person and therefore a sudden stop in the intake can lead to seizures.

Heredity
Sometimes hereditary problems also have found to be the cause of seizures. In this, genes that control the metabolic system of the human body start malfunctioning and therefore result in seizures. Metabolic disorders such as hypomagnesemia, hypoglycemia, hepatic encephalopathy are the potential causes of seizures, when it comes to hereditary transfer of seizures.

So these were some of the common seizures causes. Although seizures are serious disorders, they can be cured if treated with the help of certain drugs and therapies. However, you should not wait for the condition to worsen and should opt for a proper treatment by seeking consultation from a doctor.