Epilepsy, or seizure disorder, is a neurological condition that comes from abnormal electrical activity in the brain. Epilepsy is a chronic disorder that is typically diagnosed once there has been a history of two or more seizures that were not provoked by a specific preceding cause. According to the National Institutes of Health, approximately 3 million Americans have epilepsy. The incidence is highest in early childhood and has recently begun to become more prevalent in the elderly.
Types & Causes of Epilepsy
Epilepsy is categorized as being either symptomatic or idiopathic. Causes of symptomatic or acquired epilepsy may include genetic birth factors, infections, toxins, alcohol withdrawal, trauma, circulatory and metabolic disorders, tumors, and degenerative diseases. It is termed idiopathic if there is no evidence of an organic brain lesion and no known underlying cause. The majority of cases of epilepsy are idiopathic.
Seizures can be subdivided into partial and generalized seizures. Partial seizures are localized to one area of the brain and are either simple or complex. Simple partial seizures have no alteration of consciousness, while complex partial seizures have altered consciousness.
Generalized seizures involve both sides of the brain or the entire brain. Types of generalized seizures include tonic-clonic or myoclonic (grand mal) seizures, absence (petit mal) seizures, as well as atonic, tonic, and clonic seizures. Status epilepticus is a medical emergency in which there is a prolonged continuous seizure or multiple seizures without full recovery of consciousness in between and is associated with a high mortality rate that can be up to 20% or higher per episode.
In next blogpost, we will discuss life insurance underwriting for Epilepsy.