What is temporal lobe epilepsy?

Question

I was diagnosed with it last week and I still don't really know what it is. They said something about behavioral outbursts.

Answer 1

My husband has Temporal Lobe Epilepsy..He was diagnosed as a child...When he was six months old he had menningitis and it damaged the Temporal region of his brain and thus began his seizures.....Over the years I have noticed that between seizures his behavior is pretty good but he never goes more than four weeks between seizures...In the meantime he seems to "build up" to seizures...By this I mean as he gets closer and closer to another seizure he is very short tempered....For example, I could ask him if he wants to go to the movies and he could bite my head off.....One minute he's fine and the next he is on edge...Most of the time he doesn't realize it....He is currently on three different seizure medicines and a med to help control his outbursts.....He also has a tendenacy to deny his outbursts.....But when he takes his medicine properly the outbursts are fewer and farther between......So take your medicine at the scheduled times and if you or your family notices more behavioral outbursts talk to your doctor about it....Don't take it personally because they love you and want the best for you.....Take Care....feel free to email me if you need emotional support....I deal with these issues on a dialy basis....

Answer 2

This is epilepsy with the seizure focus in the temporal lobe. The patient has an aura before the fit. This may be a bad smell, or some other hallucination.The patient makes semi- purposive movements. These may include running around, lip smacking, rubbing.After the fit, the patient has no recollection of what he was doing.

Answer 3

I study a record of an try the position volunteers were requested to sit down in a thoroughly empty room for 0.5 an hour. on the top of the time they were requested in the journey that that they had experienced some thing supernatural interior the room. all the topics with measurable parietal lobe abnormalities said feeling a presence or another such phenomenon.

Answer 4

Temporal lobe epilepsy is a form of epilepsy, a chronic neurological condition characterized by recurrent seizures.
Temporal lobe epilepsies are a group of medical disorders in which humans and animals experience recurrent epileptic seizures arising from one or both temporal lobes of the brain. Two main types are internationally recognized.

Mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) arises in the hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus and amygdala which are located in the inner aspect of the temporal lobe.
Lateral temporal lobe epilepsy (LTLE) arises in the neocortex on the outer surface of the temporal lobe of the brain.
Because of strong interconnections, seizures beginning in either the medial or lateral areas often involve neighboring areas of the brain. The causes or etiology of different temporal lobe epilepsies vary. MTLE is often associated with generalized tonic-clonic (convulsive) seizures occurring in children under age 5 during fevers (febrile seizures). When MTLE begins in childhood, atrophy of the hippocampus can often be seen on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain. When MTLE begins in adulthood, MRIs often reveal no visible abnormalities. Rarely, MTLE can be hereditary or related to brain tumors, spinal meningitis, encephalitis, head injury or blood vessel malformations. MTLE can occur in association with other brain malformations.

Most often, a cause cannot be determined with certainty. LTLE is less common. It can be hereditary, as in Autosomal Dominant Lateral Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (ADLTLE) with auditory or visual features, but can also be associated with tumors, meningitis, encephalitis, trauma, vascular malformations or congenital brain malformations. Again, in many affected persons it is common that no cause can be identified.


[edit] Symptoms
The symptoms felt by the patient with TLE and the signs observable by others during seizures depend upon the specific areas of the temporal lobes and neighboring brain areas affected by the seizure. The Classification of Epileptic Seizures published in 1981 by the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) recognizes three types of seizures which persons with TLE may experience.

Simple Partial Seizures (SPS) involve small areas of the temporal lobe and do not affect consciousness. These are seizures which primarily cause sensations. These sensations may be mnestic such as déjà vu (a feeling of familiarity), jamais vu (a feeling of unfamiliarity), a specific single or set of memories, or amnesia. The sensations may be auditory such as a sound or tune, or gustatory such as a taste, or olfactory such as a smell that is not truly present. Sensations can also be visual or involve feelings on the skin or in the internal organs. The latter feelings may seem to move over the body. Dysphoric or euphoric feelings, fear, anger, and other sensations can also occur during SPS. Often, it is hard for persons with SPS of TLE to describe the feeling. SPS are sometimes called "auras" by lay persons, and are sometimes thought to just be a prelude to an actual seizure. The latter is incorrect. SPS are seizures.
Complex Partial Seizures (CPS) by definition are seizures which impair consciousness to some extent. This is to say that they alter the person's ability to interact with others. They usually begin with an SPS, but then the seizure spread to a large portion of the temporal lobe and impairs consciousness. Signs may include motionless staring, automatic movements of the hands or mouth, inability to respond to others, unusual speech, or unusual behaviors. Because judgement is impaired, persons experiencing CPS may not legally drive vehicles for periods of time which are set by local governments worldwide.
Seizures which begin in the temporal lobe but then spread to the whole brain are known as Secondarily Generalized Tonic-Clonic Seizures (SGTCS). These begin with an SPS or CPS phase initially, but then the arms, trunk and legs stiffen in either a flexed or extended position. After this, coarse jerking of the limbs and trunk occur.

[edit] Syndrome of TLE
The classical syndrome of TLE begins when there is a very early insult to the left or right hippocampus. Newborn babies may develop an infection resulting in a fever. Young babies have an immature thermoregulation system, and the fever causes the baby's core body temperature to increase. The raised body temperature can cause febrile convulsions. These are quite normal in babies, usually lasting only a few minutes, but in a few cases the convulsions can last for an hour. This is a sign that the infant is at a high risk of developing TLE.


[edit] Treatments
There are oral medications available for management of epileptic seizures, but with incompletely understood mechanisms of action. Anti-seizure drugs and sedatives may normalize neurological function and soothe the affected individual but may stifle the pronounced creativity and communication demonstrated by some individuals with TLE. The medications may also have extremely harsh side effects, including, but are not limited to, overall weakness (sometimes requiring support devices such as canes), tremors, slurred speech, and loss of fine motor control. Some epileptics would rather have seizures while taking less medication than have their seizures be totally controlled and suffer the debilitating effects of these medications. Surgery, if applicable, may also be a viable alternative. Some patients experience depression and disengagement from self and environment upon normalization of the sometimes intensely inspirational, profoundly stimulating experiences that accompany TLE. Monitoring of treatment is done using EEGs, CT scans, MRI imaging, oral interviews, and coordination tests.