Medical and Social Issues Associated with Posttraumatic Seizures

Past Studies

Past Studies state that individuals can experience a seizure as a medical consequence of traumatic brain injury. A seizure occurs when there is a temporary electrical imbalance in the brain. A person having a seizure can experience uncontrollable body movements, sensations, and awareness. “Early post-traumatic seizures” occur during the first week of a traumatic brain injury and “late post-traumatic seizures” occur after the first week. An early post-traumatic seizure is associated with an increased risk for late post-traumatic seizures. A late post-traumatic seizure is associated with even a greater risk of having another one.

Individuals with traumatic brain injuries caused by bullet or shrapnel wounds are more likely to have late post-traumatic seizures. Because of this, military personnel has higher late post-traumatic seizure rates of 32% to 50%. Civilian populations have lower rates of 5% to 18.9%.

A great deal of research has been conducted on medications to prevent late post-traumatic seizures. Some medications can be helpful in select individuals. For others, medication is not helpful and these individuals live with late post-traumatic seizures. The experience of individuals with traumatic brain injury living with late post-traumatic seizures has not been well examined.

This Study

This study consisted of a review of the published research related to the medical, mental health, and social issues of individuals living with seizures (people who have been diagnosed with epilepsy). The researchers focused on identifying how seizures affect the lives of individuals. By examining and establishing what is known in the epilepsy literature, the researchers hope to create a basis for new research in this area focusing on the effect of late post-traumatic seizures in people with traumatic brain injury.

The researchers found that individuals with epilepsy tend to report fair to poor levels of overall health, which is lower than that reported by the general population. In particular, individuals with epilepsy report difficulty sleeping. Individuals who experience the most seizures reported the lowest levels of overall health.

The effect that seizures have on thinking skills varies from person to person. It appears that the part of the brain that experiences the seizure activity affects what types of difficulties an individual can experience. It appears that an individual’s memory and speaking ability, along with intelligence level (IQ) can be impaired.

Individuals with seizures report that they have feelings of fear around the uncertainty of having a seizure. These individuals experience greater amounts of depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem than that of the general population. Individuals that experience seizures more often and/or severe seizures tend to experience greater difficulties with mental health.

Poor physical and mental health can lead to a decrease in socialization and social isolation (being alone most of the time). Individuals who have seizures more often report socializing the least. They fear that others will view them negatively and reject them. They prefer not to tell others that they have seizures unless there is a medical emergency. Additionally, individuals with seizures have lower marriage rates than the general population.

Driving restrictions for individuals with seizures can cause limited social and employment opportunities. Driving restrictions vary from state to state. An individual may be prohibited from driving until they are seizure-free for three to twelve months, depending on the state’s requirements. Unemployment rates are three times greater for individuals with seizures than the general population. Overall, individuals with seizures tend to have lower incomes and lower social status.

Who May Be Affected By These Findings

Individuals with traumatic brain injuries and their loved ones, healthcare providers, researchers.

Caveats

For those individuals with seizures that could not be helped by medication, seizure severity, as opposed to seizure frequency, was associated with a greater amount of mental health difficulties.

Bottom Line

Individuals with seizures report difficulties with depression, anxiety, general health, social isolation, thinking skills, and low income. The researchers state that this project has provided them with information to conduct studies about the effect of late post traumatic seizures in persons with traumatic brain injuries.

Please take a moment to comment on the value of this abstract:
Click here to take a brief survey