[Early diagnosis and prevention of severe forms of epilepsy]

Early diagnosis and treatment are the basis of prevention of severe forms of epilepsy. In order to determine the beginning of the process the author studied 400 cases in which the duration of epilepsy ranged from several weeks to 3 years. The investigations demonstrated that epilepsy develops in subjects presenting certain premorbid symptoms and signs. The "epileptic process" develops frequently as a result of past infections and craniocerebral injuries followed by residual neurological signs and cerebrasthenia. Seizure attacks, if no additional releasing factors are present, are preceded by various clinically weakly expressed seizure phenomena. They include peculiar,very vivid dreams, sudden awakenings with partly obnubilated consciouness and a feeling of fear, abortive psychomotor and other seizure. The "microseizures" include also myoclonic twitches preceding sleep and during sleep, auras, brief viscerovegatative attacks, opercular symptoms, symptoms of dream-like states, twitches of isolated muscles without consciousness disturbances. In 44% of cases asthenic symptoms were present in connection with microseizures. They served as background for development long-standing irritative foci manifesting themselves clinically with sluggishness of thinking and affect and compulsive features. Presence of these microseizures may suggest epilepsy long before appearance of typical seizures and may be an indication to beginning of treatment which may prevent the development of severe epilepsy. The syndrome of seizure-like microsymptoms makes it possible to recognize the prodromal stage of epilepsy and to change our views on its sudden onset.