EPILEPSY

Epilepsy is abnormal cell firing in the brain which can involve a part of the brain - or the entire brain. You don't need to have the motor cortex involved (i.e., on the ground and shaking) for a seizure to occur! If you think about it, "abnormal cell firing" can occur anywhere in the brain! An epileptic seizure can last from a 1 second to several minutes. Some people have up to 250 seizures a day.

Take a look at what was captured - ON VIDEO - in terms of what mercury does to neurons! Then ask yourself if this might cause epilepsy!

Epilepsy first occurs most often in the very young (50% of cases develop before age 10). Interestingly, the very young, and the very old, are now the two age groups in which epilepsy is most often occurring! "Just coincidence", again? For much more on the "just coincidence" issue, see the Autism-Schizophrenia-Alzheimer's Comparison, book 3 and/or my research file!

Epilepsy is known to occur in autism. Although much of the literature seems to state that it is known to occur in many with "puberty onset", I am very much of the opinion that parents and/or doctors may not be aware of seizure activity in even very young children because parents may not have recognized seizure activity for what it truly is. As parents read through the signs of epilepsy below, surely, most will come to recognize these things do occur in very young children who are on the autism spectrum. Know the signs - and learn to recognize them quickly.

Interestingly, vitamin B6 is the only dietary factor that - when deficient - is known to cause or magnify seizures. Autism, schizophrenia, Alzheimer's, diabetes are all associated with low levels of Vitamin B6.

Vitamin B6 is also known to be lowered by oral contraceptives (i.e., "the pill). Research shows that up to 80% of women in the US may have taken oral contraceptives at some time in their life!

Vitamin B6 is also tied to production of blood, production of neurotransmitters (including epinephrine or adrenalin which is used by the body to deal with stress, allergies, etc.), enzyme functions, production of insulin, metal excretion, and much more! For a whole lot more on these issues, see my Research File.

Signs of Epilepsy Can Include:

seizures

stiffening

jerking

tingling sensation (starting in one location and spreading - i.e., thumb to entire hand and/or arm)

loss of consciousness

perceptual disorders (alteration in sense of smell, taste, tough, sight, and/or hearing)

hallucinations

purposeless behavior

alteration in sense of smell

gastrointestinal distress

nausea

indigestion

rising or sinking feeling in stomach

dreamy feeling

unusual taste

spitting

visual disturbance

blank stares

blinking or rolling of the eyes

picking at things (i.e., clothing, skin, etc.)

aimless wandering

lip-smacking or chewing motions (at inappropriate times)

slight mouth movements (at inappropriate times)

unintelligible speech

mental confusion or blackouts

appearance of being intoxicated

loud cry

falling to ground

muscle spasms and/or tremors

tongue-biting

incontinence (loss of bladder/bowel control)

labored breathing or respiratory distress

apnea

difficulty talking

drowsiness

fatigue

headaches

sore muscles

weakness in extremities

sudden anger for no apparent reason

sudden fear for no apparent reason

sweating

flush appearance

pupil dilation

convulsion with or without fever

fainting

no response to questions or instructions

fall for no apparent reason

panic attacks

aggression

irritability

perceptual hallucination (visual, auditory, olfactory or gustatory)

deja vu (feeling "I've already seen this")

jamais vu (feeling "I've never seen this")

memory gap/amnesia

sadness

pleasure

sexual emotion

emotional distress

change in reality perception

depersonalization

feeling of other presence or heautoscopy

forced thinking

distortion of body image

numbness

sense of movement

desire to move

feeling hot or cold

feeling of an "electric shock"

phantom sensation

sleep disorders

nightmares or night terrors

loss of muscle tone

twitches and/or tics

agitation

unusual behavior

changed hearing

smell sensations

mood changes

crying or laughter for no apparent reason

There may be more - I'll add them as I find them!

Triggers Of Epilepsy

drugs (street, over-the-counter and prescription)

alcohol

certain motor frequencies

flashing lights

certain colors

vitamin B deficiency

lack of sleep

irregular sleep patterns

stress

flickering lights (including sunlight, television, computer etc.)

fever

illness

hormone imbalance

certain anti-depressants

certain antihistamines

evening primrose oil

caffeine

missing meals

low blood sugar

allergies

severe change in temperature

There may be more - I'll add them as I find them!

I recommend all with an interest in epilepsy also read a most fascinating article by Heinz Gregor Wieser called "Aura Continua" - truly amazing and enlightening in what it reveals! Note a most key comment in this article: "Long-lasting autonomous, emotional, and psychic phenomena and personality, in which the mesial temporal lobe (in particular the amygdala) and the insular and frontal cortices are candidate areas for suspected discharges, pose a problem. Discharges at such a localization are difficult to detect in routine EEG... Prolonged autonomical ictal features can mimic psychiatric, endocrine, cardiac, and gastrointestinal disorders (Devinsky et al 1986)." (source: Wieser, H.G., Aura Continua, http://www.ilae-epilepsy.org/ctf/aura_continua.html, p. 12).

This means a "normal EEG" would most likely NOT catch this epileptic activity!

Also, given seizure activity occurs in a rather random fashion, that in itself would make it difficult to catch on an EEG since "timing is everything" (i.e., if not having a seizure or epileptic activity AT THE VERY TIME THE EEG IS DONE then obviously, there would be "lack of confirmation of epileptic activity"). But, would that mean that "lack of confirmation" on an EEG is equivalent to "lack of a problem" or of "epileptic activity" - in my opinion, certainly not!