Tonight we are very happy to have Dr. Neil Schaul, Director of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center at New York Hospital as our guest. Probably hemorrhage at the time of injury leads to hemoglobin breakdown and effects cells in the brain. Some think that some individuals are more susceptible to TBI seizures but this is debatable. About 1 in 100 people have epilepsy - about 3 in a 100 have a seizure at one time in their life. Individuals who have not had a seizure for 5 years are no longer consider having epilepsy.
Seizures are pretty devastating phenomena - they alter ones social and professional life.
Continuous EEG monitoring is available in some institutions and can be very useful. The precise area of seizure can be mapped - this usually corresponds to the damaged brain. Patients having seizures often only have 1 to 4 a month - so the likelihood of seeing one with routine 20 min EEG is quite low. This is generally used in young children with generalized seizures secondary to brain damage in whom drugs do not work. The diet is quite unpleasant - it consisted of a very high proportion of fats.