Pharmacologic approaches can provide modest symptomatic relief. For AD, this includes an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor such as donepezil for mild-to-severe dementia, and memantine (used alone or as an add-on therapy) for moderate-to-severe dementia. Rivastigmine is approved for the symptomatic treatment of Parkinson’s disease dementia.
Full Answer
What are the treatment options for temporal lobe seizures?
Treatment with phenytoin reversed his cognitive dysfunction and behavioral disturbances. We presume that ictal temporal lobe epileptiform activity is the cause of his confusional episodes and cognitive dysfunction, showing an electroclinical picture of complex partial status epilepticus.
What is a temporal lobe seizure?
The incidence of seizures in other dementing diseases is less clear. There are special considerations regarding the management of seizures in the elderly with dementia. First, the presence of cognitive impairment may impede an accurate diagnosis of seizures. Clinicians may also mistake seizure manifestations for symptoms of the underlying dementia.
What is the prognosis of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE)?
Apr 04, 2022 · A temporal lobe seizure starts in the temporal lobe of the brain. One temporal lobe is on each side of the brain, near the temples. This part of the brain controls memory, emotions, and language processing. A temporal lobe seizure is called a focal seizure because it starts in one part of your brain. The seizure may last 60 to 90 seconds.
What is temporal lobe damage and how is it treated?
Jun 09, 2021 · When temporal lobe damage occurs, it can create unique secondary effects. The temporal lobe controls many functions including emotions, sensory processing, and memory. When the temporal lobe is impacted by a traumatic brain injury, it can impair these functions and significantly affect how individuals interact with their surroundings. To help you better …
What is his best treatment option for someone who has recently been diagnosed with medial temporal lobe epilepsy?
Treatments for temporal lobe epilepsy include medications, diet, surgery, laser and electrical brain stimulator devices.Dec 7, 2021
How do you treat temporal lobe damage?
Treatment for temporal lobe damage will require a personalized plan that targets each individual's unique secondary effects. Because damage to this region of the brain primarily affects cognitive functions like memory and communication, working on cognitive rehabilitation exercises can be effective.Jun 9, 2021
What medication is used for temporal lobe epilepsy?
Oxcarbazepine is approved by the FDA as a monotherapy and as an adjunctive therapy for partial epilepsy in adults and children aged 2-16 years. It blocks sodium-activated channels during sustained, rapid, repetitive firing.Dec 22, 2017
How do you help someone with temporal lobe seizures?
TreatmentMedications. Many medications are available to treat temporal lobe seizures. ... Surgical or other procedures. Vagus nerve stimulation. ... Pregnancy and seizures. ... Contraception and anti-seizure medications. ... Personal safety. ... Seizure first aid. ... At home. ... At work.More items...•Feb 24, 2021
What does right temporal lobe do?
The non-dominant lobe, which is typically the right temporal lobe, is involved in learning and remembering non-verbal information (e.g. visuo-spatial material and music).Jan 22, 2021
What does damage to the right temporal lobe cause?
Right temporal damage can cause a loss of inhibition of talking. The temporal lobes are highly associated with memory skills. Left temporal lesions result in impaired memory for verbal material. Right side lesions result in recall of non-verbal material, such as music and drawings.
Can temporal lobe seizures cause memory loss?
Over time, repeated temporal lobe seizures can cause the part of the brain that's responsible for learning and memory (hippocampus) to shrink. Brain cell loss in this area may cause memory problems.Feb 24, 2021
What triggers a temporal lobe seizure?
Experts say some possible causes of temporal lobe seizures include: severe traumatic brain injury. infections or a history of infections like meningitis or encephalitis. scarring (gliosis) in the hippocampus part of the temporal lobe.
Is temporal lobe epilepsy progressive?
Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) can be a progressive disorder, potentially resulting in structural damage and a decline of cognitive abilities over time. This is particularly evident in cases that are refractory to medication.
Can temporal lobe epilepsy cause dementia?
In this form of epilepsy, a high frequency of focal seizures gradually damages the hippocampal region of temporal lobe, leading to a significant memory loss. Synapse damage and synaptic protein loss are strongly related to the severity of dementia.
What is a right temporal lobectomy?
Temporal lobe epilepsy surgery, also called temporal lobectomy or resection, is a treatment for epilepsy when patients do not respond to antiepileptic medication. This procedure involves removing part of the temporal lobe of the brain.
Can temporal lobe seizures be cured?
When an MRI shows hippocampal sclerosis in the medial temporal lobe and EEGs show seizures starting in that same area, seizures may be cured by surgery. In some cases, up to 7 out of 10 people can be seizure-free after surgery with few problems afterwards.
What Is A Temporal Lobe Seizure?
A seizure is an abnormal burst of electrical activity in your brain. A temporal lobe seizure starts in the temporal lobe of the brain. One temporal...
What Increases My Risk For Temporal Lobe Seizures?
1. Epilepsy (condition that causes repeated seizures), or a family history of epilepsy 2. A history of febrile seizures (caused by a high fever) 3....
What Are The Signs and Symptoms of A Temporal Lobe Seizure?
1. An aura (warning sign of a seizure), such as nausea or smelling something that is not real 2. Staring with no awareness of your surroundings 3....
How Is A Temporal Lobe Seizure Diagnosed?
Your healthcare provider will ask about your health conditions and what medicines you take. Describe how you felt before and after the seizure. Inc...
How Is A Temporal Lobe Seizure Treated?
The goal of treatment is to try to stop your seizures completely. You may need any of the following: 1. Medicines will help control your seizures....
What Can I Do to Prevent A Seizure?
You may not be able to prevent every seizure. The following can help you manage triggers that may make a seizure start: 1. Take your antiepileptic...
What Can I Do to Manage Temporal Lobe Seizures?
1. Keep a seizure diary. This can help you find your triggers and avoid them. Possible triggers include illness, lack of sleep, hormonal changes, a...
How Can Others Keep Me Safe During A Seizure?
Give the following instructions to family, friends, and coworkers: 1. Do not panic. 2. Do not hold me down or put anything in my mouth. 3. Gently g...
Call 911 For Any of The Following
1. Your seizure lasts longer than 5 minutes. 2. You have a second seizure within 24 hours of the first. 3. You have trouble breathing after a seizu...
When Should I Contact My Healthcare Provider?
1. You feel you are not able to cope with temporal lobe seizures. 2. Your seizures start to happen more often. 3. You are confused longer than usua...
How many seizures are there in dementia?
In patients with Alzheimer's disease (the most common form of dementia), approximately 10-22% have at least one unprovoked seizure.
When do seizures occur in Alzheimer's?
Seizures usually occur in later stages of Alzheimer's disease, on average, > or =6 years into the course of the disease. Seizures in Alzheimer's disease are more likely to occur with early-onset disease, particularly if there is a familial presenilin I mutation.
Can cognitive impairment cause seizures?
First, the presence of cognitive impairment may impede an accurate diagnosis of seizures. Clinicians may also mistake seizure manifestations for symptoms of the underlying dementia. Second, since most dementia patients are elderly, there are pharmacokinetic changes with aging that affect the use of antiepileptic drugs.
Do elderly people have seizures?
Seizures in elderly patients with dementia: epidemiology and management. Epileptic seizures occur in patients with dementia at a higher prevalence than among healthy elderly individuals. The incidence of seizures among patients with dementia varies with the aetiology of the dementing illness. In patients with Alzheimer's disease (the most common ...
What is temporal lobe seizure?
What is a temporal lobe seizure? A seizure is an abnormal burst of electrical activity in your brain. A temporal lobe seizure starts in the temporal lobe of the brain. One temporal lobe is on each side of the brain, near the temples. This part of the brain controls memory, emotions, and language processing.
How to stop seizures?
Medicines will help control your seizures. You may need medicine daily to prevent seizures or during a seizure to stop it. Do not stop taking your medicine unless directed by your healthcare provider. Surgery may help reduce how often you have seizures if medicine does not help.
What causes seizures in the brain?
Epilepsy (condition that causes repeated seizures), or a family history of epilepsy. A history of febrile seizures (caused by a high fever) A traumatic brain injury or a brain tumor. An infection in your brain, such as meningitis. Scarring in part of your brain from a past injury, including birth injuries.
How long does a focal seizure last?
A temporal lobe seizure is called a focal seizure because it starts in one part of your brain. The seizure may last 60 to 90 seconds. It may be simple or complex. Simple means you stay aware of your surroundings. Complex means you lose awareness. The seizure can become a generalized tonic-clonic (grand mal) seizure.
What to do if you have a seizure in water?
Carry medical alert identification. Wear medical alert jewelry or carry a card that says you had a seizure.
How to prevent a seizure?
The following can help you manage triggers that may make a seizure start: Take your antiepileptic medicine every day at the same time. This will also help prevent medicine side effects. Set an alarm to help remind you to take your medicine every day. Manage stress.
How long before a seizure do you have an aura?
The aura may happen seconds before a seizure, or up to an hour before. You may feel, see, hear, or smell something. Examples include part of your body becoming hot. You may see a flash of light or hear something. You may have anxiety or déjà vu. If you have an aura, include it in your seizure diary.
How to treat temporal lobe damage?
Treatment for temporal lobe damage will require a personalized plan that targets each individual’s unique secondary effects. Because damage to this region of the brain primarily affects cognitive functions like memory and communication, working on cognitive rehabilitation exercises can be effective.
What are the functions of the temporal lobe?
The temporal lobes play a role in many essential functions, including: Processing sensory information (mainly sound but also smell, vision, etc.) Memory. Language comprehension.
What is the temporal lobe?
The temporal lobe controls many functions including emotions, sensory processing, and memory. When the temporal lobe is impacted by a traumatic brain injury, it can impair these functions and significantly affect how individuals interact with their surroundings. To help you better understand temporal lobe damage, this article will address: ...
How does temporal lobe damage affect memory?
Temporal lobe damage may affect many essential functions including language comprehension, emotional regulation, and memory. It can also significantly affect the way we process sensory information and interact with our surroundings.
What is the most common memory loss after a temporal lobe injury?
As a result, memory problems are a very common effect of temporal lobe damage. The most common memory problem after a temporal lobe injury is difficulty forming new long-term memories.
What are the potential complications of temporal lobe damage?
Because many functions can be affected following temporal lobe damage, individuals may experience various complications that affect their ability to perceive and respond appropriately to their environment.
What are the effects of damage to the right temporal lobe?
In contrast, damage to the right temporal lobe may affect an individual’s ability to process music, which may cause difficulties singing. 4. Hearing Difficulties.
Why do people with dementia have seizures?
Why do people with dementia develop seizures? Ultimately, anything that changes the structure of the brain can cause seizures. This happens for some people after a stroke, a head injury, or with a brain infection like meningitis. A similar problem is happening in the brain in dementia.
What is a generalised tonic clonic seizure?
Generalised tonic-clonic seizures are hard to miss. But this is not what most epileptic seizures look like. Most epileptic seizures in people with dementia are known as focal onset seizures. These can involve brief periods of increased amnesia or unresponsiveness.
What happens to the brain when you die?
A similar problem is happening in the brain in dementia. As cells in the brain die and the brain shrinks this can lead to epilepsy. In addition, we know that two proteins that build up in the brain of people with Alzheimer’s disease – amyloid and tau – affect how the brain’s nerve cells communicate with each other.
What are the two types of epileptic seizures?
There are two common types of epileptic seizures: Generalised tonic-clonic seizures. Most of us are familiar with the kind of epileptic seizures we see on TV or in films. People become unresponsive, they fall to the ground, become stiff and their whole-body shakes in a convulsion. Generalised tonic-clonic seizures are hard to miss.
Can dementia cause epileptic seizures?
People with dementia are at risk of having epileptic seizures. We’ve known this for a long time – it was described by Alzheimer himself in 1911. However, how common they are remains unclear. This is because epileptic seizures can often be subtle.
Is dementia a symptom of memory loss?
There are some symptoms of dementia that are more commonly known, such as memory loss. Seizures are a less common symptom of dementia that are not as understood. Hear from one of our dementia researchers who has been studying seizures in people with the condition.
Can seizures occur early in Alzheimer's?
However, more recent research has suggested that seizures can occur early-on in Alzheimer’s disease. In some people, seizures may happen even before memory problems become apparent. As part of my research, I recruited people from the local memory clinic here in Exeter. We asked them questions about epilepsy.
What is a temporal lobe seizure?
Overview. Temporal lobe seizures begin in the temporal lobes of your brain, which process emotions and are important for short-term memory. Some symptoms of a temporal lobe seizure may be related to these functions, including having odd feelings — such as euphoria, deja vu or fear. Temporal lobe seizures are sometimes called focal seizures ...
How long does a temporal lobe seizure last?
Sometimes temporal lobe seizures impair your ability to respond to others. This type of temporal lobe seizure usually lasts 30 seconds to two minutes. Characteristic signs and symptoms include: Loss of awareness of surroundings. Staring.
What is the term for a seizure that is a generalized tonic-clonic seizure
Inability to recall what occurred during the seizure. Unawareness of having had a seizure. Extreme sleepiness. In extreme cases, what starts as a temporal lobe seizure evolves into a generalized tonic-clonic (grand mal) seizure — featuring convulsions and loss of consciousness.
What to do if you have a seizure for the first time?
You've injured yourself during the seizure. If you experience a seizure for the first time, seek medical advice . Seek medical advice in these circumstances: If you think you or your child is having seizures. When the number or severity of seizures increases significantly without explanation.
What causes scarring in the temporal lobe?
Traumatic brain injury. Infections , such as encephalitis or meningitis, or a history of such infections. A process that causes scarring (gliosis) in a part of the temporal lobe called the hippocampus. Blood vessel malformations in the brain. Stroke.
Which lobe of the brain controls movement?
Each side of your brain contains four lobes. The frontal lobe is important for cognitive functions and control of voluntary movement or activity. The parietal lobe processes information about temperature, taste, touch and movement, while the occipital lobe is primarily responsible for vision.
What part of the brain is responsible for memory and learning?
Over time, repeated temporal lobe seizures can cause the part of the brain that's responsible for learning and memory (hippocampus) to shrink. Brain cell loss in this area may cause memory problems.
What is frontotemporal dementia?
Frontotemporal dementia is a group of disorders characterized by the loss of nerve cells in the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain, which causes these lobes to shrink. The cause of FTD is unknown. Symptoms typically first occur between the ages of 40 and 65 and can include changes in personality and behavior, ...
What is the cause of dementia?
Frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a common cause of dementia, is a group of disorders that occur when nerve cells in the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain are lost. This causes the lobes to shrink. FTD can affect behavior, personality, language, and movement.
What is the name of the seizures in TLE?
The modern name for these seizures is "focal onset seizures.". Focal seizures are then described by whether a person stays awake and aware or has impaired awareness ...
How long does a focal impaired awareness seizure last?
The seizures last 30 seconds to a couple of minutes.
What is the term for scarring in the temporal lobe?
One of the most common findings is scarring in the temporal lobe. This is called hippocampal sclerosis (sclerosis means hardening or scarring). It may look like the hippocampus on one side, or both, has shrunk or is smaller.
Where do seizures occur?
Seizures often begin in a structure of the brain called the hippocampus or surrounding area. MTLE accounts for almost 80% of all temporal lobe seizures. Neocortical or lateral temporal lobe epilepsy involves the outer part of the temporal lobe. Medial temporal lobe epilepsy usually begins around age 10 or 20, but it can start at any age.
Where do seizures start in the brain?
Seizures in TLE start or involve in one or both temporal lobes in the brain. Contact Our Helpline. There are two types of TLE: Mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) involves the medial or internal structures of the temporal lobe. Seizures often begin in a structure of the brain called the hippocampus or surrounding area.
What are the symptoms of a seizure?
They are the first symptoms of a seizure. The most common auras are feelings of déjà-vu or some stomach upset. Feelings of fear, panic, anxiety, a rising sensation coming from the stomach to the chest or throat, or butterflies with nausea are other common auras. Some people may sense an unusual smell.
Can epilepsy be cured?
If seizures fail to respond to medication, then epilepsy surgery may be an option. When an MRI shows hippocampal sclerosis in the medial temporal lobe and EEGs show seizures starting in that same area, seizures may be cured by surgery. In some cases, up to 7 out of 10 people can be seizure-free after surgery with few problems afterwards.
Which hemisphere of the brain controls movement?
As discussed above, each hemisphere of the brain controls movement on the opposite side of the body. Therefore, brain damage to the right hemisphere often leads to muscle weakness on the left side.
What are the two hemispheres of the brain?
The brain is divided into two sides, called the right and left hemispheres . In general, the left half controls a person’s logical and verbal functions, while the right half is in charge of non-verbal and intuitive functions. Some of these non-verbal, intuitive functions of the right hemisphere include: Memory. Visual and spatial abilities.
What are the effects of right side brain injury?
Effects of Right Side Brain Injuries. An injury to the right side of your brain can result in many cognitive difficulties. It can also affect some language abilities. Below is a list of the most common effects of right hemisphere brain damage. 1.
What are the functions of the right hemisphere?
Some of these non-verbal, intuitive functions of the right hemisphere include: 1 Memory 2 Visual and spatial abilities 3 Emotions 4 Imagination 5 Facial recognition 6 Musical ability.
Why is the right side of the brain important?
Because the right side controls our imagination and helps us organize information, it allows us to perceive things more fully and generate creative solutions. If the right side of the brain is damaged, this can severely hamper a person’s ability to identify and solve problems. 8.
What happens to the right hemisphere after injury?
Therefore, after an injury to the right hemisphere, you may have trouble moving muscles on your left side.
Diagnosis
Treatment
- Not everyone who has one seizure will have another one. Because a seizure can be an isolated incident, your doctor may not decide to start treatment until you've had more than one. The optimal goal in seizure treatment is to find the best possible therapy to stop seizures, with the fewest side effects.
Clinical Trials
- Explore Mayo Clinic studiestesting new treatments, interventions and tests as a means to prevent, detect, treat or manage this condition.
Coping and Support
- Even after they're under control, seizures can affect your life. Temporal lobe seizures may present even more of a coping challenge because people may not recognize the unusual behavior as a seizure. Children may get teased or be embarrassed by their condition, and living with the constant threat of another seizure may frustrate children and adults.
Preparing For Your Appointment
- In some cases, seizures need immediate medical attention, and there's not always time to prepare for an appointment. In other cases, your first appointment to evaluate a seizure may be with your family doctor or a general practitioner. Or you may be referred to a specialist, such as a doctor trained in brain and nervous system conditions (neurologist) or a neurologist trained in epilepsy …