Book contents
- Understanding Epilepsy
- Understanding Epilepsy
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Contributors
- Preface
- Chapter 1 Pathophysiology of Epilepsy
- Chapter 2 Physiologic Basis of Epileptic EEG Patterns
- Chapter 3 Pathology of the Epilepsies
- Chapter 4 Classifications of Seizures and Epilepsies
- Chapter 5 Electro-clinical Syndromes and Epilepsies in the Neonatal Period, Infancy, and Childhood
- Chapter 6 Familial Electro-clinical Syndromes and Epilepsies in Adolescence to Adulthood
- Chapter 7 Distinctive Constellations and Other Epilepsies
- Chapter 8 Seizures Not Diagnosed as Epilepsy
- Chapter 9 Nonepileptic Spells
- Chapter 10 Status Epilepticus
- Chapter 11 EEG Instrumentation and Basics
- Chapter 12 Interpreting the Normal Electroencephalogram of an Adult
- Chapter 13 Ictal and Interictal Epileptiform Electroencephalogram Patterns
- Chapter 14 Neonatal and Pediatric Electroencephalogram
- Chapter 15 Scalp Video-EEG Monitoring
- Chapter 16 Intracranial EEG Monitoring
- Chapter 17 Neuroimaging in Epilepsy
- Chapter 18 The Role of Neuropsychology in Epilepsy Surgery
- Chapter 19 Principles of Antiseizure Drug Management
- Chapter 20 Gender Issues in Epilepsy
- Chapter 21 Antiseizure Drugs
- Chapter 22 Surgical Therapies for Epilepsy
- Chapter 23 Stimulation Therapies for Epilepsy
- Chapter 24 Practical and Psychosocial Considerations in Epilepsy Management
- Chapter 25 Comorbidities with Epilepsy
- Chapter 26 System-Based Issues in Epilepsy
- Index
- References
Chapter 3 - Pathology of the Epilepsies
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 October 2019
- Understanding Epilepsy
- Understanding Epilepsy
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Contributors
- Preface
- Chapter 1 Pathophysiology of Epilepsy
- Chapter 2 Physiologic Basis of Epileptic EEG Patterns
- Chapter 3 Pathology of the Epilepsies
- Chapter 4 Classifications of Seizures and Epilepsies
- Chapter 5 Electro-clinical Syndromes and Epilepsies in the Neonatal Period, Infancy, and Childhood
- Chapter 6 Familial Electro-clinical Syndromes and Epilepsies in Adolescence to Adulthood
- Chapter 7 Distinctive Constellations and Other Epilepsies
- Chapter 8 Seizures Not Diagnosed as Epilepsy
- Chapter 9 Nonepileptic Spells
- Chapter 10 Status Epilepticus
- Chapter 11 EEG Instrumentation and Basics
- Chapter 12 Interpreting the Normal Electroencephalogram of an Adult
- Chapter 13 Ictal and Interictal Epileptiform Electroencephalogram Patterns
- Chapter 14 Neonatal and Pediatric Electroencephalogram
- Chapter 15 Scalp Video-EEG Monitoring
- Chapter 16 Intracranial EEG Monitoring
- Chapter 17 Neuroimaging in Epilepsy
- Chapter 18 The Role of Neuropsychology in Epilepsy Surgery
- Chapter 19 Principles of Antiseizure Drug Management
- Chapter 20 Gender Issues in Epilepsy
- Chapter 21 Antiseizure Drugs
- Chapter 22 Surgical Therapies for Epilepsy
- Chapter 23 Stimulation Therapies for Epilepsy
- Chapter 24 Practical and Psychosocial Considerations in Epilepsy Management
- Chapter 25 Comorbidities with Epilepsy
- Chapter 26 System-Based Issues in Epilepsy
- Index
- References
Summary
The pathology of epilepsy is a complex and evolving field, reflecting both rapid developments in diagnostic and therapeutic techniques, and the continued difficulties in translating electrical and functional phenomena into traditional categories of morphological disease. A seizure is an acute neurological event due to sudden excessive disorderly discharge of neurons.1 Lesions that are presumed to cause seizures can be either structural, definable by morphological techniques such as radiology and anatomic pathology, or functional, definable by clinical localization, electrophysiology, and, in some cases, functional imaging defining a focus. Causality is inferred by correlation of morphological findings and location with clinical and electrophysiological data and, in some cases, by the cessation of subsequent seizures after removal of the lesion or focus. Epilepsy is intermittent recurrence of seizures. The finding of structural lesions in some forms of epilepsy suggests and supports causality, but our understanding of the chain between the definable structural lesion and the recurrence of seizures is often less clear.2 Causality may be particularly difficult to determine in conditions producing multiple structural lesions such as tuberous sclerosis, where one lesion is epileptogenic and other similar lesions are not. Even determining how a particular electrically active focus propagates to evolve into a particular seizure or series of intractable seizures is also incompletely understood. To add to the difficulty, seizures or epilepsy itself can be causal, resulting in progressive brain damage and self-perpetuating seizures, particularly in some forms of temporal lobe epilepsy. Moreover, some treatments for epilepsy themselves have been associated with some forms of brain damage.
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- Understanding EpilepsyA Study Guide for the Boards, pp. 39 - 57Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2019