Patient's question:
A 8-year-old child had episodes during the morning hours of sleep in January 2013 and on September 13, 2013. The episodes involved sudden loss of consciousness (while sleeping in bed), tetanic spasms of the limbs, locked jaw, and no incontinence of urine or feces. Saliva was not visibly expelled. The parents are healthy, and there is no family history.Doctor's answer:
Hello, epilepsy is a clinical syndrome characterized by recurrent abnormal discharges of brain neurons, leading to temporary dysfunction of brain function. Clinically, it manifests as varying degrees of dysfunction in motor, sensory, conscious, autonomic nervous, and mental functions, or a combination thereof. Medications commonly used to treat epilepsy include phenytoin, carbamazepine, primidone, phenobarbital, ethosuximide, and clonazepam, among others.