How to identify the initial signs of epilepsy in children and start therapy on time? Can epilepsy be cured in a child? Treatment of epilepsy in children.

Epilepsy is a neurological pathology of a chronic nature. With it, the body is predisposed to convulsive seizures of varying strength. Typical manifestation diseases - periodic situations during which muscle cramps develop into a seizure with loss of consciousness.

Pronounced seizures are considered an extremely severe variant of epilepsy. Fortunately, it occurs relatively infrequently. In newborns and young children, convulsive signs are mild. They are easy to confuse with normal activity or even not notice.

Is there a cure for epilepsy in children? early age whether teenagers or not depends on many factors. First of all, it depends on the cause and aggressiveness of the disease, the characteristics of the body, the prescribed and accepted therapy. Doctors say that childhood epilepsy is curable in most cases, but it is necessary to undergo a course of complex therapy.

Under common name convulsive seizures, about 60 diagnoses of varying severity are known. Each of them develops due to various reasons.

Therefore, when determining the risk of seizures in a small patient, a comprehensive diagnosis is carried out first of all. With the help of instrumental examinations, doctors clarify all aspects of the course and dynamics of the disease.

Varieties of childhood epilepsy

In children, the following types of seizures are distinguished:

Absence or non-convulsive generalized. A common type, manifests itself in the period from birth to puberty. It is difficult to detect, the absence lasts 5-20 seconds. The child "turns off" from the outside world. Such attacks may be accompanied by a slight tilting of the head and trembling of the eyelids. With equal probability, after puberty, they can disappear or vice versa - intensify.

Children's spasms appear at 2-3 years. Early in the morning after waking up, for a few seconds the body is not completely controlled. The kid nods his head, straightens his legs, arms, brings them to his chest, the body leans forward.
Atonic - outwardly short-term fainting, during which the body completely relaxes, and consciousness is clouded for a few seconds.
Full-fledged seizures with severe convulsions, loss of orientation in space.
Night attacks that pass during sleep can be recognized by sleepwalking. As a rule, they pass by the period of growing up on their own without the necessary treatment.

Symptoms of childhood epilepsy are often mild, parents and relatives do not notice the presence of the disease for a long period. The similarity of manifestations with other diseases complicates the diagnosis and prescription proper treatment. Average age identification of patients aged 5-18 years.

It is possible to determine with certainty whether it is possible to cure epilepsy completely in a teenager, small children or not, how to do this, is realistic only with some of its variants. Those, the reasons for the development of which are established in detail. More often you have to hope for positive dynamics, with a weakening of convulsions, a decrease in seizures.

Diagnostics

If you suspect small, minor attacks, manifested in the form of short-term fading or night sleepwalking, you need to contact a pediatrician, a neurologist and conduct a thorough study, since such symptoms are characteristic of a number of diseases.

There is only one way to prove that a patient has epilepsy - EEG (electroencephalography). The results of the study will show specific abnormalities in the work of neurons, leading to seizures.

When the diagnosis of convulsive disease is confirmed, the neurologist prescribes additional studies. This is necessary to find out the location and number of foci, the systematic nature of their awakening:

computed tomography (CT);
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI);
EEG monitoring.

After studying the results of the study, the type of pathology is specified, complex treatment.

Treatment

After a thorough examination, diagnosis, clarification of all concomitant factors, pediatrician will not be able to accurately answer the question: “Is epilepsy in a child curable or not?”. Since it is impossible to eliminate the focus that causes it in the brain. But the chances of stopping seizures, given the statistics, are not bad.

Drugs and dosage are selected specifically for each patient. Since, due to the characteristics of the body, it is impossible to predict the severity of the action of certain tablets in advance.

In each case, the treatment paradigm is selected taking into account the characteristics of the course of the disease and the characteristics of the patient.

Prevention

A special role in getting rid of the disease is played by the prevention of seizures. However, even if the seizures disappeared from a person's life a year ago, the foci that cause them do not disappear. Therefore, a diagnosis made in childhood, overcome by painstaking treatment or due to age, can return. In adulthood, with much more severe symptoms.

To reduce the likelihood of this, it is necessary throughout life to remember the body's tendency to convulsions. And spend preventive actions:

adhere to a clear daily routine;
avoid discos, computer games;
choose sports activities that are allowed with a similar diagnosis;
avoid overwork;
do not drink alcohol;
follow a diet;
avoid taking drugs;
warn doctors about a previously diagnosed diagnosis when choosing drugs;

Even if there were no seizures after reaching puberty, and the diagnosis was eventually removed, you should not forget about the structural features of your brain. Whether it is possible to cure epilepsy in a child forever is an open question due to the specifics of the disease.

Epilepsy in children is a chronic neurological disease, which develops in connection with the increased electrical activity of brain cells and is externally manifested by various seizures.

Attacks can be expressed in the following forms:

convulsions ("large" or "small" convulsive seizures);
temporary loss of consciousness;
mental disorders: hallucinations, loss of connection with reality;
automated, many times repeated movements;
symptoms of "hanging" (freezing in one position, fixing the gaze).

Epilepsy attacks in children develop in connection with the activation of excitation processes in the cells of the cerebral cortex, while foci gradually form in different parts of the brain. When epileptic foci occur, waves and discharges of different frequencies begin to form in the cells, which, under certain conditions or under the influence of provoking factors, become strong and sharp and accumulate in certain areas of the cerebral cortex.

The main causes of epilepsy are injuries nerve cells brain (neurons) against the background of immaturity of all organs and systems of the baby:

during pregnancy, this may be the impact on the fetus of infections, toxins, medicines, the development of brain hypoxia (lack of oxygen for brain cells), radiation;
birth trauma during childbirth;
exposure to the brain of toxins (malignant jaundice), infectious agents (neuroinfections), trauma after birth.

Therefore, often the first symptoms ("debut") of epilepsy appear in young children up to two or three years.

One of the factors is heredity - a number of forms of epilepsy are transmitted from parents.

Diagnosis of epilepsy

Establishing the diagnosis of epilepsy is based primarily on the appearance of symptoms of the disease at a certain age in a child. With large convulsive attacks, repeated two or more times against the background of the child's complete health, this is much easier to do. Also, the occurrence of “small” seizures testifies to the disease, especially with the development of epilepsy in children under one year old, which are manifested by specific types of seizures:

absences: fading in one position, turning off consciousness with fixation of the gaze;
repetitive obsessive movements, in most cases resembling the usual movements of a child (sucking, blinking, smacking);
single muscle contractions of a specific muscle group.

Often they are not immediately noticed by parents, so the diagnosis of such forms is more difficult and the disease is not always diagnosed on time.

Therefore, if even minor signs appear that indicate the occurrence of neurological pathology in children at any age (from birth to 16 years), it is necessary to contact a pediatric neurologist and conduct necessary examination to exclude the formation of this severe pathology.

It is also important to know that the earlier the diagnosis is made with the definition of the form and cause (with symptomatic epilepsy), the necessary treatment is prescribed, the greater the likelihood of a positive prognosis, long-term remission (no seizures) or complete cure of the pathology.

Instrumental methods for diagnosing a disease

If symptoms of epilepsy appear in a child, it is necessary to contact a district pediatrician or a pediatric neurologist as soon as possible to examine the baby, determine the neurological status and conduct various tests. If necessary, consultations of other specialists (ophthalmologist, endocrinologist, cardiologist) and instrumental methods diagnostics.

First of all, if you suspect the development of epilepsy, an electroencephalographic study of the brain (EEG) is performed. This method determines the bioelectrical activity of the brain and its pathological changes associated with the formation of epileptic foci. Using this method, in most cases, a doctor (neurologist or epileptologist) can determine the presence of epilepsy in a small patient and clarify its form.

In complex forms of epilepsy, specific changes in the EEG may be absent in the presence of clinical manifestations, therefore, repeated studies are carried out, a long-term EEG recording with fixation on video (EEG - video monitoring) is prescribed, which is performed for a long time: several hours or even days.

Also to additional methods studies for epilepsy include magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computed tomography of the brain (CT), which can be used to determine one of the causes of epilepsy: the presence of a congenital anomaly, a tumor, changes after an injury, a site of cerebrovascular accident.

Also, to determine the causes of epileptic seizures, identify the form and cause of epilepsy, a specialist may prescribe other examinations:

electroencephalography with stress tests or provocations;
neurosonography (ultrasound of the brain) - for the diagnosis of epilepsy in infants with an open large fontanelle;
dopplerography or radiography of cerebral vessels to determine vascular pathology.

Epilepsy treatment

The tactics of treating epilepsy in children depends on the form and cause of the disease, but antiepileptic drugs are almost always prescribed, which reduce the convulsive readiness of the brain. The drug and dose are selected individually, taking into account the form of epilepsy, the type of seizures, the age of the child and the presence of concomitant diseases. Anticonvulsant therapy continues continuously and for a long time (for several years) under the supervision of an epileptologist, and with a long remission, the complete absence of seizures, it is possible to completely cancel the drugs.

In severe malignant epilepsy, a complex ketogenic diet, steroid hormones are added to antiepileptic drugs, and if indicated, neuro surgery.

Prognosis for health and life

The prognosis for epilepsy in children depends on:

on the form and severity of the disease, the frequency of repetition and duration of attacks;
on the age of the “debut” of the disease, the timeliness of diagnosis and the initiation of therapy;
the presence of concomitant ailments that complicate the course of the disease, provoke the development of seizures or reduce the effectiveness of treatment (liver and kidney diseases, severe endocrine pathology, chromosomal diseases, metabolic disorders).

The most unfavorable malignant forms of the disease are epilepsy with frequent generalized "big" convulsive seizures, with the onset of development at an early age, developing against a background of severe brain pathology. In most cases, the child is constantly monitored by a neurologist and epileptologist, receives long-term complex treatment, this type of epilepsy is an indication for disability registration for epilepsy in children, but in each case the decision is made by a medical commission.

The most benign forms of epilepsy with a positive prognosis for the life and health of the baby, subject to constant monitoring by a specialist and long-term treatment(even in the absence of symptoms and attacks) are considered:

sleep epilepsy in children, which is manifested by night attacks of sleep-talking, sleepwalking, parasomnia (attacks of leg cramps at night);
reading epilepsy, when epilepsy attacks in children and adolescents develop during or after reading;
benign rolandic epilepsy;
benign neonatal convulsions.

Parents need to remember that the diagnosis of "epilepsy" is not a sentence - when timely diagnosis, constant monitoring and properly selected long-term therapy, most forms of this disease can be successfully treated, and the development of a child with epilepsy is age-appropriate. Various mental disorders or mental retardation are observed only with severe forms epilepsy with frequent seizures or symptomatic epilepsy caused by severe organic pathology nervous system baby (congenital malformations of the brain, trauma with lesions of large areas of the brain, after complex neuroinfections suffered at an early age).

Of course, epilepsy imposes a number of restrictions on parents and the child.

To know what causes epilepsy in children, you must first understand how the brain works. But what happens in the brain of a child with this neuropsychiatric disorder? In this article, you will learn how epilepsy manifests itself in children and when to seek help from a specialist.

The brain controls and regulates all voluntary and involuntary reactions in the body. It is made up of nerve cells that normally communicate with each other through electrical activity.

Childhood epilepsy can be diagnosed if two (or more) seizures have occurred that arose for no particular reason. A seizure is an altered behavior when part(s) of the brain receives a burst of abnormal electrical signals that temporarily interrupt normal brain function with electrical impulses.

Different kinds Epilepsy in children is classified according to:

signs and symptoms;
age (during the period when violations begin to occur);
EEG picture;
neurological-symptomatic epilepsy in children during examination;
indications of studies where special types of imaging (X-ray) were involved, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT).

Approximately 4-6% of babies have one neuropsychiatric seizure in childhood and about 1% - two or more. Of those children who have had two or more epileptic seizures, there is a 70-80% risk that they will develop a neuropsychiatric illness.

focal seizures

The type of epilepsy depends on the area of which hemisphere of the brain has failed.

Focal epilepsy in children occurs when abnormal electrical function of the brain occurs in one or more areas of one hemisphere.

If the baby does not lose consciousness during an attack, the attack is classified as simple. If the child loses consciousness or does not respond adequately, it is classified as a complex epileptic seizure.

Focal seizures typically include: unilateral twitches of the arms or legs, immobility, eyes tilted to one side, or twisting (stretching) of the body. Sometimes the symptoms of epilepsy in children follow other signs:

visions;
noise in ears;
violation of taste and smell;
dizziness;
rapid pulse;
dilated pupils;
sweating;
, stuttering;
feeling of fullness of the stomach;
mental symptoms such as: feeling of deja vu, distortions, illusions, hallucinations.

Generalized Seizures

These epileptic seizures in children involve both hemispheres of the brain and are therefore less variable than focal seizures.

As a rule, they include a short-term gaze; sudden, sharp muscle reflexes; generalized and rhythmic twitching of the limbs; generalized episodes of muscle tension or generalized muscle tension followed by rhythmic twitching of limbs and sudden loss muscle tone, resulting in a sharp fall to the ground.

Causes of epileptic seizures

Fever may be the cause in children aged three months to five years without any other underlying neurological problems. Febrile seizures are common and occur in 2-5% of all babies. Simple febrile seizures are short and usually last no more than five minutes. Generalized seizures occur only once during the illness.

Metabolic or chemical imbalances in the body can also cause epilepsy in children. The conditions that cause them include:

hypoglycemia ( low level blood sugar);
hypernatremia (too little or too much sodium in the blood);
hypocalcemia (too little calcium).

Meningitis or encephalitis (an infection of the brain) can also cause epileptic attacks in babies. Other acute problems that trigger seizures include toxins, trauma, and strokes.

In children with epilepsy (including adolescents) common cause sudden increase in seizures is that they do not take (or take untimely) medication as directed by the doctor.

Birth trauma or brain abnormalities such as tumors are often the source of epileptic seizures. Lack of adequate oxygen during childbirth, trauma, infection, and stroke often trigger an epileptic seizure. Sometimes seizures appear suddenly, although brain abnormalities persist for a long time.

Epileptic seizures also develop as a result of neurodegenerative diseases. Although rare, neurodegenerative diseases can be quite devastating.

Diagnosis: how parents can help

The doctor's best tool for evaluating seizures is the child's history. This includes information about what happened just before the seizure:

the first sign in a child that something is wrong;
Full description case;
level of responsiveness and reaction;
how long the attack lasted;
how it was completed;
how did the baby behave after this incident.

All or some of the following tests are used in the course of diagnosing epilepsy:

Blood tests.
An electroencephalogram (EEG) is a procedure that records the continuous electrical activity of the brain using electrodes attached to the head.
MRI - diagnostic procedure, which uses a combination of large magnets, radio frequencies and a computer to reproduce detailed images of organs and structures within the body.
CT scan is a diagnostic imaging procedure that uses a combination of x-rays and computer technology to produce a cross-sectional image (often called slices) of the body, both horizontally and vertically. A CT scan shows detailed images of any part of the body, including bones, muscles, fat, and organs. CT scans are more accurate than general x-rays.
Lumbar puncture (spinal tap) - a special needle is placed in the lower back into the spinal canal. This is the area around (but not in) the spinal cord. The pressure in the spinal canal and brain can then be measured. Not a large number of Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) may be removed and sent for testing to determine if there is an infection or other problem. Liquor is a liquid that washes the head and spinal cord person.

Benefits and side effects of antiepileptic drugs

Can epilepsy in children be treated with medication? One or more medications may be used to treat epilepsy in children. Epilepsy drugs are selected depending on:

seizure type,
age,
side effects
the cost of medicines.

Home medications are usually taken by mouth (capsules, tablets, powders, or syrup), but in some children, medications are used rectally (introduced into the rectum as suppositories). If your baby has seizures while in the hospital, group (IV) intravenous injections are used.

It is important to give children the medicine prescribed by the doctor in a timely manner. Each person's body functions differently, so schedule and dosing adjustments may be needed to properly control seizures. All drugs may have side effects however, some children do not experience them.

Therefore, it is important to discuss the side effects of an epileptic drug in a child with your doctor. While the baby is taking medication, the doctor may order various tests to monitor the effectiveness of the treatment. These tests include the following:

Blood analysis: regular study blood may be needed to check levels medicinal product in the body. Based on the readings, the doctor may increase or decrease the dose of the drug to reach the desired level. This level is called "therapeutic" - when the drug works most effectively. A blood test may also be done to monitor the effects of the drug on organs in the body.
Urinalysis: These tests are done to see how a child's body reacts to drugs.

As a parent, you must weigh the benefits of therapy against the risks of a subsequent epileptic attack before your child starts taking medication. Treatment usually does not begin after a child's first seizure.

While statistical reports vary, the risk of recurrence of the disease after the first seizure, if it occurred without visible reasons, is about 40%. Most recurring attacks occur after the first event - 50% chance that the next one will occur within six months.

Statistics on the effectiveness of drug treatment

In 70% of children, seizures stop after taking one type of medication. In 15%, seizures go away with a combination of several medicines. The last 15% suffer from epilepsy that does not respond to drug treatment.

Other treatments

Main treatments for epilepsy: ketogenic diet, stimulation vagus nerve and operation

ketogenic diet for epilepsy in children, it is a strict diet, high in fat - useful for generalized seizures that do not respond to drugs.

Vagus nerve stimulator- surgically implanted wires around the vagus nerve connected to a pacemaker on the chest, which is programmed to periodically excite the vagus nerve.

This device has been approved as adjunctive therapy for frequent seizures in children over 12 years of age. However, some researchers suggest that vagus nerve stimulation is also beneficial for young children and toddlers with intractable generalized attacks.

Surgery for epilepsy- for some patients, especially those with focal seizures that do not respond to drugs or have identified abnormalities in the cerebral cortex, surgery may be best method epilepsy treatment.

Status epilepticus (ES)

This is any type of seizure that lasts more than 30 minutes. These seizures occur in about 100,000 to 150,000 cases per year, with children accounting for half of these cases.

About 75% of children have symptoms of epilepsy before the age of one.. They also have one episode of ES, which accounts for approximately 5% of all febrile seizures. ES can occur in all types of seizures in children of different ages. This type of epileptic seizure can be caused by:

changing or abruptly stopping medication;
fever;
infections;
poisoning chemicals(what to give a child with vomiting - see);
metabolic disorders and diseases;

There are many anxiety conditions, but they are not signs of epilepsy in children. This may include:

Many symptoms can cause anxiety, but they are not signs of epilepsy.

Apnea (not breathing for more than 15 seconds), although this is rarely the only evidence of an attack.
Children with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), a digestive disorder in which stomach acid enters from the stomach into the esophagus, with possible: stuttering, staring, generalized muscle tension and arching of the back.
Certain sleep disorders, including nightmares, sleepwalking, and other conditions. Sometimes parents mistakenly believe that a child has had nocturnal epilepsy.
Certain types of migraine.
Breath holding, stuttering in children from six months to six years.
Movement disorders such as nervousness, shuddering, tics, Tourette syndrome, and others.
Carelessness and thoughtfulness.
Repetitive behaviors such as headbutting, body rocking, tantrums, and outbursts of rage.
Emotional cramps are a psychogenic response to emotional stress.

10 first aid rules: what to do if a child has a seizure

If your baby has an epileptic seizure:

Lay it gently on the floor or ground and remove any nearby objects.
Turn the child on its side so that it does not choke on saliva.
Loosen clothing around the neck (collar, fasteners, scarf).
Make sure the baby is breathing.
Do not try to hold him and prevent convulsions - this will not stop the seizure, and by physical impact you can harm him.
Don't put anything in your mouth. Your child will not swallow their tongue and any objects may cause injury or block Airways.
The baby should lie on its side and, if the attack is accompanied by vomiting, clean his mouth with your finger.
Do not give him anything to eat or drink, no medicines or liquids. until it passes into itself.
Try to keep track of how long the convulsions last, which you need to tell your doctor about later.
Call your doctor.

Children after an attack can sleep and it will take some time to return to normal life. Stay with the baby until he wakes up or regains consciousness.

Conclusion

Early adequate treatment is the most effective. Since most epileptic seizures last less than two minutes, we recommend intensive initiation of epilepsy treatment lasting more than five minutes.

From parent feedback

Olga, 48 years old, Odessa

My daughter has been suffering from epilepsy for 13 years. We take various drugs, sometimes we change the method of taking drugs. Compared to the previous period, when the frequency of attacks was sometimes up to 10 per day, today it has decreased to serial with a period. Sometimes 2-5 times within 1-2 days with a period of a week or two. We accept Epiramat 100, Finlepsin Retard 600 and Levicetam 250.

Is it possible to combine such drugs together and how to treat my daughter further, I do not know. It seems that all the drugs have already been tried, but the result is not visible. Advise where else you can turn for qualified help to recover completely from this serious illness. The girl is 26 years old, and she has not yet seen a full life. It is difficult to get a job somewhere, there are no girlfriends, the child is degrading! We will be very grateful for your help!

I have been contacting people who know something in this area for a long time, but no one responded. Do we really not have such specialists who can really treat patients with epilepsy?, and not just describe theoretical lectures on the course of treatment, from which there is no effectiveness?

In December 2011, my daughter already had a series of severe epileptic seizures twice (from December 05 to December 08 - 11 seizures. Then again on December 29-30 - 13. Doctors prescribed droppers for 5 days, and then they don’t know what to do, how to treat. They suggest increasing the dose of pills, which we have been doing for 13 years, but there is no result.We do not know any other treatment in Odessa.

Epilepsy in children is a chronic pathology of a neurological nature that develops against the background of increased electrical activity of cells in the brain, and externally manifests itself in various seizures. Most often, epilepsy in a child acts as a secondary ailment that develops against the background of other pathological conditions. Anomalies in the development of the brain and burdened heredity contribute to the congenital form of the disease.

The leading clinical manifestations are epileptic and convulsive seizures, complemented by impaired consciousness, severe headaches and sleepwalking.

Due to the presence of a specific symptomatic picture, there are no problems with establishing the correct diagnosis. However, instrumental procedures are necessary to determine the type of disease.

Pathology can be cured only through the complex application of conservative and neurosurgical techniques.

According to international classification epilepsy in children has eigenvalue. ICD-10 code - G40.

Etiology

The main provoking factor of such a disease is the occurrence of pathological electrical impulses directly in the brain, but the sources of their formation remain not fully understood.

Nevertheless, it is customary to distinguish the following causes of epilepsy in children:

genetic predisposition - the probability of developing an ailment, in the presence of a similar pathology in one of the parents, is 10%;
heavy flow chronic infections;
infectious lesions of the brain transferred in infancy, which are also considered neurocysticercosis;
benign or oncological tumors with localization or metastasis to the brain;
injuries received during the birth of the baby;
traumatic brain injury.

Symptomatic is several times less common, that is, it is formed against the background of an already ongoing brain lesion. The following diseases can contribute to this:

hyperglycinemia;
mitochondrial encephalopathy;
leucinosis and other metabolic disorders;
fetal alcohol syndrome;
complicated course in newborns;
intrauterine infection or fetal hypoxia;
and typhus;
rheumatic damage to the nervous tissue;

Also, the formation of epileptic seizures is affected by severe during the period of bearing a child, the development of post-vaccination complications and poisoning of the body with toxic substances.

It is extremely rare to find out the causes of such an ailment is not possible, even when using the latest techniques neuroimaging. In such cases, a diagnosis of "cryptogenic epilepsy in children" is made.

Classification

Since such a violation is nothing more than a consequence of a violation of the functioning of the brain, one of the main classifications implies its division according to the place of localization. So there is:

temporal epilepsy in children - is expressed in loss of consciousness without convulsive seizures, but with a sharp violation of mental and motor activity;
frontal epilepsy in children - the hallmark is that it has a typical clinical picture, with the presence of convulsions, fainting and sleepwalking
parietal epilepsy in children;
occipital epilepsy in children.

The last two varieties of the disease are quite rare, but have a mild clinical picture. The frequency of diagnosing temporal and frontal epilepsy reaches 80%.

If there is a lesion of one of the parts of the brain, then it is customary to talk about focal epilepsy in children, and if several - generalized.

Division of pathology based on the etiological factor:

symptomatic epilepsy in children - extremely rarely observed in patients of this age category;
idiopathic epilepsy in children is considered as such if it develops due to changes in the work of neurons, namely if their activity and degree of excitability increases significantly. The factors of occurrence are burdened heredity, congenital anomalies of the brain and neuropsychiatric ailments;
cryptogenic;
post-traumatic;
tumor.

Rolandic epilepsy in children is a separate type of idiopathic form of the disease. It got its name because it is localized in the Roland groove adjacent to the cerebral cortex. It often occurs between the ages of 3 and 13. It is noteworthy that it passes by the age of 16.

Another frequent type pathology - absence epilepsy in children, manifests itself in the interval from 5 to 8 years. The overwhelming majority of girls are prone to this kind of illness. Characterized by non-convulsive seizures.

There are also rare types of ailment:

West syndrome;
myoclonic epilepsy in children;
Lennox-Gastaut syndrome.

The most common and unfavorable variety of this pathological condition is called sleep or nocturnal epilepsy in children.

The pathological process can also have a benign or malignant course. In the second case, the symptomatology progresses even against the background of adequate treatment.

According to the course, epilepsy is divided into:

typical;
atypical, i.e. with erased symptoms or inconsistency of EEG changes with the clinical picture.

Classification depending on the time of onset of the first symptoms:

forms of newborns;
infant;
children's;
youthful.

Symptoms

The clinical picture of such a disease is diverse and is dictated by its nature. The first signs of epilepsy in children are:

headaches;
sleepwalking;
nightmares;
intermittent sharp increase heart rate.

Rolandic epilepsy in children is characterized by the following symptoms:

facial numbness;
myoclonus or spasms of the body, upper and lower extremities;
violation of speech function;
no fainting;
profuse salivation;
nocturnal epileptic seizures.

The clinical picture of absence epilepsy includes:

the baby freezes for about 30 seconds;
freezing of the gaze;
stretching the lips with a tube;
frequent head nodding
smacking.

Characteristic features of West syndrome:

the development of seizures at 1 year of life of the baby;
nodding head movements;
frequent recurrence of symptoms, especially in the morning.

Symptoms of Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome:

manifestation at the age of 2 to 4 years;
nodding movements;
sudden fall of the child, which occurs against the background of a sharp weakening of muscle tone;
non-convulsive seizures.

Myoclonic type of pathology appears in:

development at the age of 9 to 12 years;
sharp contractions of the muscles of the arms and legs by the type of startle;
falling children;
inability to hold objects in hands.

Sleep epilepsy has the following clinical manifestations:

convulsions lasting up to half an hour;
fainting;
incontinence of urine and faeces;
headache;
nightmares or complete absence sleep;
personality changes.

Typical forms of epilepsy in children have the following symptoms:

partial or generalized convulsions;
weakness and weakness;
tingling and burning sensation on the skin;
abdominal pain;
bouts of nausea;
increased sweating;
increase in temperature indicators;
increased heart rate;
change in all kinds of sensations;
mental disorders.

Ignoring the symptoms and prolonged lack of therapy leads to irreparable consequences.

An epileptic attack in a child involves the provision of first aid aimed at:

providing fresh air to the room where the victim is located;
laying children in a horizontal position, namely on their side;
turning the head to one side, to prevent the tongue from sinking, and also so that the child does not choke on vomit;
calling a team of doctors to the house.

It is also worth noting what is strictly forbidden to do when providing emergency care:

try to contain seizures;
disturb the patient;
breathe mouth to mouth and indirect massage hearts;
crush the child's teeth.

Diagnostics

Establishing the correct diagnosis requires an integrated approach and, above all, is aimed at the implementation of such manipulations by a pediatric neurologist or epileptologist:

familiarization with the medical history of both the patient and his relatives;
collection and study of anamnesis of life;
a thorough physical examination of the patient;
assessment of neurological status;
a detailed survey of the patient's parents - to clarify the frequency and duration of the seizure, as well as the intensity of the severity of clinical signs.

Laboratory studies are limited to:

blood biochemistry;
immunological blood test;
tests to determine the chromosomal karyotype.

Instrumental methods for diagnosing epilepsy in children include:

roentgenoscopy of the skull;
CT and MRI;
daily ECG monitoring;
ophthalmoscopy;
brain PET;
lumbar puncture - for sampling and subsequent laboratory study of cerebrospinal fluid.

Such a disorder should be differentiated from:

convulsive syndrome in children;
febrile myoclonus.

Treatment

The treatment of this disease involves both conservative and surgical techniques. Inoperable treatment of epilepsy in children is:

decline physical activity;
ensuring proper sleep patterns;
the patient's work with a psychiatrist;
compliance with the rules of dietary nutrition;
the use of biofeedback therapy;
oral administration of anticonvulsants and nootropic drugs;
elimination of the underlying disease in symptomatic epilepsy.

Neurosurgical therapy of the disease involves the implementation of such operations as:

hemisfactory;
anterior or limited temporal lobectomy;
extratemporal neocortical resection;
vagus nerve stimulation with special implantable devices.

Possible Complications

Epilepsy is a dangerous pathology that very often leads to the development of the following complications:

injury during a fall during an attack;
mental retardation;
mental disorders, for example, emotional instability;
retraction of the language;
suffocation, which occurs against the background of the fact that the child can choke on vomit;

Prevention and prognosis

To date, specific preventive measures to prevent the development of epilepsy have not been developed. To reduce the likelihood of an illness, parents should:

provide adequate sleep and healthy eating to kid;
timely treat diseases of an infectious nature;
prevent injury to the head of children;
to monitor the adequate course of pregnancy;
regularly show the child to the pediatrician.

The prognosis of the pathology is relatively favorable - with the help of conservative medicine it is possible to control seizures, but not completely avoid them, however. Children can lead quite normal lives.

Symptomatic epilepsy in children has an unfavorable outcome, since there may be a severe course of the underlying disease and the appearance of its consequences, which aggravate the course of epileptic seizures.

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