By Megdad M. Zaatreh, M.D.
I t is estimated that nearly 33 percent of people with autism spectrum disorder also have epilepsy. But until recently there had been little clinical research about the connection between the two neurological conditions. Epilepsy is a brain disorder marked by recurring seizures or convulsions.Autism is a neurobehavioral disease that includes impairment in social interaction and language development, which often includes rigid, systematic repetitive behaviors. Both conditions can affect patients with varying degrees of severity.
New research has found that adults with epilepsy are more likely to show signs of autism and Asperger syndrome. Up to this point, in many cases, epileptic adults may not have been properly diagnosed or treated for autism symptoms. The connection between the two conditions was the result of a study that showed epileptic seizures short-circuit the neurological function that affects socialization in the brain, which are the same traits seen in autism.These characteristics include impairment of normal social interaction (eye contact, conversation, enjoying the act of sharing with someone else) and tightly regimented or repetitive cycles of behavior.
Shedding new light onto socialization challenges for epileptics
Up to now, the social and behavioral challengers for some people with epilepsy have been under-diagnosed and research has not uncovered any underlying theory to explain them.Without diagnosis, there is no treatment plan. But this new evidence explains that the misfiring of the brain during a seizure may explain the cause of this condition. Not surprisingly, the more frequent the epileptic seizures, the more severely impacted the patients socialization issues may be.
These new findings could mean that adults with epilepsy can now benefit from the wide range of autism treatment services available to help address the long-standing socialization issues many epileptic patients have experienced throughout their lives.This offers the possibility of significantly improving epileptics overall quality of life. Up to this point, there have been few services to address these needs.
Recognizing symptoms of epilepsy in infants
The highest incidence of epilepsy occurs during the first year of life, when many new parents can overlook or misinterpret physical symptoms. Each year, 150,000 children and adolescents in the United States will have a newly occurring single seizure and 30,000 will be diagnosed with epilepsy after subsequent seizures occur. During early childhood development, infants often exhibit a variety of erratic physical movements and mannerisms which may not cause immediate concern. But babies or children presenting any of these symptoms should be seen by a doctor immediately:
a prolonged staring spell
uncontrollable jerking movements of the arms and legs
Originally posted here:
Connection between epilepsy and autism may expand treatment options for epileptics