How are seizures diagnosed?
If doctors suspect your child is having a seizure, the diagnostic workup will include a brief electroencephalogram (EEG), a test that records and measures brain waves to look for electrical abnormalities. If nothing abnormal appears on the initial EEG, which involves putting electrodes (small metal discs attached to thin wires) on the scalp, then your child might need a longer EEG conducted in the hospital, or sometimes at home.
In addition to an EEG, an MRI imaging test (or sometimes a CAT scan) may be performed to look for any causes stemming from a previous problem in the brain or from something occurring in the moment, such as a brain infection or abnormality in blood chemistry.
Will my child need treatment? Not all children who have a single seizure will require treatment, which can consist of daily antiepileptic medications to prevent seizures. Many factors go into deciding whether to treat kids after a first seizure, and that decision should be made in partnership with your doctor.
If the EEG and MRI are normal and the likelihood of a second seizure is low, your doctor may recommend watchful waiting. On the other hand, when diagnostic tests are abnormal and the likelihood of recurrence is increased, antiepileptic drugs after a first seizure may be appropriate. Kids with a moderate to high likelihood of having additional seizures are considered to have epilepsy, even if they have had only one seizure.
Febrile seizures, which occur with a high fever, are common in toddlers and young children, and usually aren’t treated.
Who should my child see if epilepsy is suspected? Seek out a neurologist who either studies epilepsy or whose specialty is epilepsy. Getting a thorough evaluation is very important.
NYULMC-2011_2CP_RGB_300dpiFrom the Real Experts at NYU Langone Medical Center:
Jacqueline French, MD, is a professor in the Department of Neurology at NYU Langone Medical Center, and Director of Translational Research and Clinical Trials at NYU Langone’s Comprehensive Epilepsy Center. She was past president of the American Epilepsy Society, and was recently named chief scientific officer of the Epilepsy Foundation. Dr. French was a senior study author of the American Academy of Neurology and the American Epilepsy Society’s new guidelines for managing an unprovoked first seizure in adults. She trained in neurology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York and did her fellowship training in EEG and epilepsy at Mount Sinai Hospital and Yale University. Dr. French has focused her research efforts on developing new therapeutics for epilepsy. She has been involved in more than 300 publications, and lectures in the US and internationally on topics related to antiepileptic drug therapeutics.
45 iParent Magazine August 2015 www.iparentmagazine.com
How are seizures diagnosed?
If doctors suspect your child is having a seizure, the diagnostic workup will include a brief electroencephalogram (EEG), a test that records and measures brain waves to look for electrical abnormalities. If nothing abnormal appears on the initial EEG, which involves putting electrodes (small metal discs attached to thin wires) on the scalp, then your child might need a longer EEG conducted in the hospital, or sometimes at home.
In addition to an EEG, an MRI imaging test (or sometimes a CAT scan) may be performed to look for any causes stemming from a previous problem in the brain or from something occurring in the moment, such as a brain infection or abnormality in blood chemistry.
Will my child need treatment?
Not all children who have a single seizure will require treatment, which can consist of daily antiepileptic medications to prevent seizures. Many factors go into deciding whether to treat kids after a first seizure, and that decision should be made in
partnership with your doctor.
If the EEG and MRI are normal and the likelihood of a second seizure is low, your doctor may recommend watchful waiting. On the other hand, when diagnostic tests are abnormal and the likelihood of recurrence is increased, antiepileptic drugs after a first seizure may be appropriate. Kids with a moderate to high likelihood of having additional seizures are considered to have epilepsy, even if they have had only one seizure.
Febrile seizures, which occur with a high fever, are common in toddlers and young children, and usually aren’t treated.
Who should my child see if epilepsy is suspected? Seek out a neurologist who either studies epilepsy or whose specialty is epilepsy. Getting a thorough evaluation is very important.
From the Real Experts at NYU Langone Medical Center:
Jacqueline French, MD, is a professor in the Department of Neurology at NYU Langone Medical Center, and Director of Translational Research and Clinical Trials at NYU Langone’s Comprehensive Epilepsy Center. She was past president of the American Epilepsy Society, and was recently named chief scientific officer of the Epilepsy Foundation. Dr. French was a senior study author of the American Academy of Neurology and the American Epilepsy Society’s new guidelines for managing an unprovoked first seizure in adults. She trained in neurology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York and did her fellowship training in EEG and epilepsy at Mount Sinai Hospital and Yale University. Dr. French has focused her research efforts on developing new therapeutics for epilepsy. She has been involved in more than 300 publications, and lectures in the US and internationally on topics related to antiepileptic drug therapeutics.