The First Records of Epilepsy and Scientific Discoveries

The earliest known detailed report of epileptic like seizures is on a Babylonian tablet in the British Museum. The tablet records many of the different seizure types we recognise today. This is a chapter from a Babylonian textbook derived of 40 tablets dating as far back as 2000 BC. (Epilepsy Canada, 2019) 5th century BC Epilepsy was referred to as the “sacred disease,” described like this in the famous treatise by Hippocrates. Although Hippocrates believe that epilepsy was not a sacred disease but rather a disorder of the brain. He did not believe “that a human could be invaded by God, the basest by the most pure.” He recommended physical treatments and decided that if the disease became chronic that it was incurable. (Epilepsy Canada, 2019) 18th and 19th Centuries Hippocrates’ view of epilepsy as a brain disorder didn’t begin to take hold till the 18th and 19th centuries.

The Prevailing two thousand years predominated by the earlier supernatural views. The supernatural theories being reinforced through bible verses Mark 9:14-29, where Christ casts a devil out of a man with epilepsy. (Epilepsy Canada, 2019) During this time, people with epilepsy were treated with fear, suspicion and misunderstanding and they were affected by social stigma, treated as outcasts and punished. Bromide, introduced in 1857, by Sir Charles Locock, was the first effective anti-epilepsy medication, the use in Europe and North America during the second half of the last century was pronounced. A hospital for the “paralysed and epileptic” was established in London in 1857.

At the same time a more humanitarian method to solve social problems related to epilepsy resulted in the establishment of epilepsy “colonies” for care and employment. In the 19th century, as neurology emerged, distinct from psychiatry the idea of epilepsy being a brain disorder became widely accepted especially in Europe and North America this helped to reduce the stigma associated with the disorder. During the 1920s, while working in Germany Hans Berger, a psychiatrist, developed the human electroencephalograph (EEG). It was an important part of the field of epilepsy from the 1930s onwards. The EEG revealed the presence of electrical discharges in brain, enough to show different patterns of brainwave discharges associated with different seizure types. The EEG helped locate the seizure discharges and extended the possibilities of neurosurgical treatments, this became much more widely available from the 1950s onward in London, Montréal and Paris.

During the first part of the century the main medication for this management of epilepsy were phenobarbitone (1912) and phenytoin (1938). Since the 1960s, drug discovery has accelerated thanks to a much greater understanding of the electrochemical activities of the brain, especially the excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters. (Epilepsy Canada, 2019) 2017 2000 years of epilepsy management has resulted in today’s understanding of the disorder, which, both socially and medically, prioritizes patient welfare, quality of life, and privileges. The story is still ongoing however, and biomedical perceptions of epilepsy continues to progress. How It Affects the Human Body Epilepsy being a neurological disease it affects several different systems throughout. Seizures can leave one feeling unaware or confused about what had just occurred. An individual having a seizure can be unresponsive. Being unconscious during a seizure can lead to trouble remembering, even if you aren’t unconscious this isn’t uncommon. After a seizure individuals can be left with a sense of danger or sometimes a sense of euphoria. Rapid movement of the eyes, excessive blinking or blank staring can all be signs of seizures.

After the seizure an individual may feel fatigued or unnaturally tired. Seizures can disrupt your normal heart rhythm, this can cause too fast, too erratic or too slow beats. In the long run this raises risks of heart issues and strokes. The condition causes hormonal changes in both genders, which raises the chances of having issues to two to three times more common. The condition in itself doesn’t affect bones but medications that can be taken can weaken your bones. Current situation & aiming for a better future Epilepsy is still a widely prominent disease around the world, researchers are still discovering details about all types of seizures. Researchers in japan have just recently discovered the origin in the brain that causes an absence seizure- a type of seizure where an individual loses consciousness and seem to be blankly staring for a short time.

A team at the RIKEN centre for brain science, presented that absence seizures can be generated by impaired communications between two parts of the brain; the cortex and the striatum. Researchers are still looking into different types of medication to help reduce the amount of seizures. It has recently been discovered that a pharmaceutical formulation of cannabidiol (CBD)- a cannabis-based medicine- cut seizures nearly in half for individuals suffering with a severe and quite rare type of epilepsy called Dravet syndrome. This form of epilepsy starts in infancy and could possibly lead to intellectual disabilities and prolonged seizures. This strain of marijuana does not contain the psychoactive part (THC) that creates the “high”. Seizures were reduced by 47% in patients given a high dosage, by 56% for those on a lower dosage and by 30% for those given a placebo. Where it is found Epilepsy is found all over the world, it is found that nearly 80% of individuals with epilepsy are in low/middle income countries, and three quarters of these people do not receive the correct needed treatment. Sixty five million people worldwide are suffering with epilepsy.