A - Z Encyclopedia
Understanding Temporal Lobe Seizure: Information, Symptoms, Treatment, and Prevention
The Basics | Symptoms | Diagnosis and Treatment | Prevention
Diagnosis and Treatment
How is a Temporal Lobe Seizure Diagnosed?
If someone has a seizure for the first time, if a seizure lasts longer than 2-3 minutes, or if multiple seizures occur one after the other, take them to the emergency room or call 911 immediately.
If a seizure disorder is suspected, the doctor will begin by taking a thorough medical history, including any birth trauma, serious head injury, or infections of the brain such as encephalitis or meningitis.
Brain function can be "viewed" with an electroencephalograph, or EEG, which detects the electrochemical relay of information from brain cell to brain cell. EEGs will show characteristic, abnormal patterns during different types of seizures.
In addition, X-rays, CT scans and MRIs of the head can help rule out specific causes of seizures.
What Are the Treatments for Temporal Lobe Seizure?
Oral anticonvulsive medications, such as phenytoin and carbamazepine, may help reduce or eliminate recurrent seizures in some people. The newer anticonvulsants like topiramate and lamotrigine may be better in some.
However, temporal lobe seizures do not always respond well to medication.
Many people with temporal lobe seizures respond well to surgery that removes the abnormal part of the brain. This procedure is called a temporal lobectomy.
In 1997, the US Food and Drug Administration approved a procedure called the vagus nerve stimulation. A device is implanted under the collarbone that stimulates the left vagus nerve, resulting in an inhibition of seizures.
The Basics | Symptoms | Diagnosis and Treatment | Prevention
