Every second Monday of February, the International Epilepsy Day is celebrated, with the aim of making people aware of this disease. According to the World Health Organization, more than 50 million people suffer this condition worldwide, making it one of the most common neurological disorders. On the other hand, in our country, it is estimated that 1 to 2 percent of Peruvians suffer from epilepsy. This time, Dr. Walter de la Cruz, a neurologist at Clinica Ricardo Palma, will give us more information on the subject.

What is epilepsy?

It is a non-communicable chronic brain disease that is manifested by a sustained tendency to recurrent epileptic seizures. These crises are due to electrical discharges from groups of brain cells that can occur in different parts of the brain.

Symptoms

Spontaneous epileptic seizures are the main clinical manifestation of epilepsy and usually last less than 1 or 2 minutes.

People who have epileptic seizures may experience sudden, brief, and transient changes in behavior, consciousness, movement, perception, and/or sensitivity.

Causes

In almost 50% of cases, it is not possible to find the cause that originates this disease; however, in the rest, it may be due to:

• Traumatic brain injuries
• Asphyxiation during childbirth
• Brain tumors
• Cerebrovascular accidents
• Congenital brain malformations
• Brain infections (meningitis, neurocysticercosis)
• Genetic diseases, among others

Dr. Walter de la Cruz
Neurologist at Clínica Ricardo Palma