Known Causes of Seizures

Most of the Known Causes of Seizures

Seizures occur when there's a sudden change in the normal way your brain cells communicate through electrical signals. Some brain cells send abnormal signals, which stop other cells from working properly and when electrical impulses discharge abnormally, a seizure may occur. This abnormality may cause temporary changes in sensation, behavior, movement or consciousness. Seizure disorders involve periodic disturbances of the brain's electrical activity, resulting in some degree of temporary brain dysfunction. Here we are going to discuss known causes of seizures.

The known causes of seizures include many conditions like diseases, injuries, and other factors. Many abnormalities of the nervous system can also result in seizure activity. Seizures can also occur in the normal nervous system when its metabolic balance is disturbed. These may include conditions such as atherosclerosis, bleeding into the brain, such as a subarachnoid hemorrhage, chromosomal abnormalities, pregnancy and problems associated with pregnancy, stroke, congenital diseases or conditions, high blood pressure, transient ischemic attack, which is also called a mini-stroke. In rare occasions, seizures may be caused by a tumor in your brain. However, in many cases there's no identifiable cause for the disease.

• Disease: Disease is a very well known cause of seizures. Several neurodegenerative disorders produce seizure activity, including the diseases like Alzheimer's disease, Neurofibromatosis, Tuberous sclerosis, Tay-Sachs disease, advanced liver disease, hereditary diseases, infections involving the brain, including encephalitis, brain abscess, and bacterial meningitis, kidney failure, such as chronic renal failure.
• Injuries: Injuries that may cause seizures include head injury such as a motor vehicle accident or sports injury, choking, electrical injuries, injury during birth or in the uterus, poisonous insect bites or stings. Seizures may develop at or around the time of injury or years.
• Stroke: Seizures may be caused at the time of a stroke or many years later. They may occur with strokes that result in lack of blood flow to the brain or with those that involve hemorrhage into or around the brain.
• Infections: The known causes of seizures include infections of the nervous system. These include infection of the covering of the brain and the spinal fluid, infection of the brain, HIV and related infections.
• Triggers: Normally triggers do not cause seizures but provoke the onset of a seizure or cause a seizure in a patient whose epilepsy is under control. Hormonal changes of the menstrual cycle, over consumption of alcohol, sleep deprivation, flickering or flashing light, and stress can trigger a seizure in a susceptible person.
• High fever: A type of seizure called febrile seizures is caused by high fever. It normally occurs in small children from birth up to the age of 5. Approximately one-third of these children may experience another febrile seizure, but only a few develop epilepsy.
• Toxins: Overdose of some prescribed drugs and its abrupt withdrawal can result in seizure activity. Alcohol withdrawal, High doses of penicillin can produce seizures. Use of Chronic illicit drug like cocaine, heroine, amphetamines, and PCP may also cause seizures. Poisoning from carbon monoxide, lead, and other heavy metals also may cause seizures.
• Genetic Factors: Some persons may have a genetic predisposition to the development of seizures. There is also an increased incidence of seizures in relatives of those with a seizure disorder.

Additional factors that may cause seizures include malaria, meningitis, rabies, tetanus, and viral encephalitis, high levels of sugar or sodium in the blood; low levels of sugar, calcium, magnesium, or sodium in the blood; kidney or liver failure; phenylketonuria; insufficient oxygen to the brain. Seizures can also be triggered by flashing lights, video games, repetitive sounds, stress, cigarette smoking and lack of sleep or even by the hormonal changes during the menstrual cycle.