Seizure Treatments
Different types of seizures will have different symptoms and impact your life and functioning in a variety of ways. Nayzilam can help. It's a prescription nasal spray used to treat seizure clusters in people with epilepsy.
Nayzilam
Nayzilam contains midazolam, a benzodiazepine. Benzodiazepines work by calming abnormal electrical activity in the brain, which helps stop seizures. Because Nayzilam is administered through the nose, it is absorbed quickly into the bloodstream, allowing it to take effect within minutes.
Seizure Medications
Depending on the type of seizure or epileptic condition the patient has, doctors will evaluate whether seizure medications are the best route for management. Some medications, such as Fintepla, are recommended for severe epileptic diagnoses such as Dravet syndrome or Lennox-Gestaut syndrome. These conditions are often diagnosed in childhood and can impact neurological development.
In Dravet syndrome the seizures are caused by a genetic disorder that can lead to consistent, prolonged seizures that can be brought on by fluctuations in temperature or fevers. Unfortunately, these seizures are often resistant to anticonvulsant medications. Fintepla reduced monthly seizures in patients with Dravet syndrome by 79% per month. This reduction and seizure management can significantly improve the quality of life. It has been tested in children as young as 2 years old, which makes it a great option for treating childhood seizure conditions.
Dietary Therapy
Dietary interventions, specifically low carbohydrate and high-fat diets administered and monitored by a doctor can help with refractory epilepsy in some patients. The most common diets used in these instances are a modified Atkins or ketogenic diet.
Epilepsy Surgery
In some cases, surgery may be recommended even before or as an alternative to medications as the procedures have evolved greatly along with a deeper understanding of seizures and epilepsy. Surgery can be a viable option for those patients whose seizures are resistant to control via seizure medications or who are struggling with their side effects.
Electrical Stimulation of the Brain or Nerves
In some cases surgery is not an option, so another treatment includes combining seizure medications with electrical stimulation to reduce seizures. In vagus nerve and responsive neurostimulation, a small device is placed either under the skin of the chest or in the brain, respectively. The device used for vagus nerve stimulation sends signals to the brain to lessen seizures. For neurostimulation, this device can tell when a seizure is starting and then quickly send electrical stimulation to the brain to stop the seizure.
The third type of electrical stimulation is deep brain stimulation. This process includes surgeons placing electrodes and thin wires in specific parts of the brain which are then connected to a device similar to a pacemaker in the chest. These electrodes produce electrical impulses that help manage the brain activities that can cause seizures, leading to a reduction in seizures.
What are Seizures?
As mentioned above, seizures are the result of bursts of sudden electrical in the brain that cause symptoms throughout the body and brain. When it comes to types of seizures, they can be classified by cause, symptom and/or what part of the brain they begin in and how far they spread. Some seizures can be caused by head injuries or strokes, though many have no known cause, which is why seizure treatment and seizure medications can vary so much.
Many people are likely most familiar with tonic-clonic seizures, previously referred to as grand mal seizures. This type of seizure is characterized by the person losing consciousness, becoming stiff and shaking. Typically seizures last between 30 seconds to 2 minutes, so any seizure over 5 minutes is considered a medical emergency. Someone who has experienced two or more seizures in a 24 hour period without a known cause is diagnosed with epilepsy, but not everyone who has seizures has epilepsy.
What are Some Symptoms of Seizures?
Due to the wide variety in types of seizures, the symptoms can vary greatly. Atonic seizures are often characterized by an immediate loss in muscle tone which can lead to:
- Limp muscles.
- Droopy eyelids.
- A dropping or nodding forward of the head.
- Falls to the ground if the person is standing.
These seizures tend to be quite brief and often the person experiencing them can stand up quickly afterward if they fall. However, the loss of muscle tone and consequent fall may lead to other, more severe injuries.
Other more generalized symptoms of seizures include:
- Sudden loss of awareness or consciousness.
- Staring spells.
- Changes to emotions, mood and thinking such as: anxiety, fear or a sense of deja vu.
- Uncontrollable and unstoppable jerking movements of legs and arms.
- Short-lived confusion.
These symptoms can negatively impact the quality of life and the ability of the person experiencing them to live in the world safely, whether that is losing driving privileges or fear of falling and injuring themselves during a seizure, that is where seizure medications such as Fintepla can become an important part of a treatment plan.
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