Hello and welcome to the Zero to Finals podcast. My name is Tom and in this episode I'm going to be talking to you about epilepsy.

And if you want to follow along with written notes on this topic, you can follow along at zero definals.com

or in the neurology section of the Zero to Finalsediatrics book. So let's get straight into it.

Epilepsy is an umbrella term for a condition where there is a tendency to have seizures.

Seizures are transient episodes of abnormal electrical activity in the brain.

There are many different types of seizures.

A diagnosis of epilepsy is made by a specialist based on the characteristics of the seizure episodes. Let's start by talking about the types of seizures.

There are many types of seizures. There are different treatments for epilepsy based on the type of seizures that form that patient's

epilepsy. The aim of treatment is to be seizure-free on the minimum anti-epileptic medications.

Ideally, they should be on monotherapy with a single anti-epileptic drug.

Treatment is initiated and guided by a specialist. Firstly,

generalized tonic clonic seizures. Generalized tonic clonic seizures are what most people think of as

an epileptic seizure. There is loss of consciousness and tonic meaning muscle tensing and clonic meaning muscle jerking movements.

Typically the tonic phase comes before the clonic phase.

There may be associated tongue biting, incontinence, groaning and irregular breathing.

After the seizure there's a prolonged post-ictal period where the person

is confused, drowsy, and feels irritable or low. Management of tonic-clonic seizures is with

sodium valperate as the first line, and second-line medications are Lamotrogene or Carbamazapine.

Next, focal seizures.

Focal seizures start in the temporal lobes.

They affect hearing, speech, memory and emotions.

There are various ways that focal seizures can present,

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