Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy—Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a brain disorder that causes people to have recurring seizures. The seizures happen when clusters of nerve cells, or neurons, in the brain send out the wrong signals. People may have strange sensations and emotions or behave strangely. They may have violent muscle spasms or lose consciousness.

Epilepsy has many possible causes, including illness, brain injury, and abnormal brain development. In many cases, the cause is unknown.

Doctors use brain scans and other tests to diagnose epilepsy. It is important to start treatment right away. There is no cure for epilepsy, but medicines can control seizures for most people. When medicines are not working well, surgery or implanted devices such as vagus nerve stimulators may help. Special diets can help some children with epilepsy.

NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

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Juvenile myoclonic epilepsy is a condition characterized by recurrent seizures (epilepsy). This condition begins in childhood or adolescence, usually between ages 12 and 18, and lasts into adulthood. The most common type of seizure in people with this condition is myoclonic seizures, which cause rapid, uncontrolled muscle jerks. People with this condition may also have generalized tonic-clonic seizures (also known as grand mal seizures), which cause muscle rigidity, convulsions, and loss of consciousness. Sometimes, affected individuals have absence seizures, which cause loss of consciousness for a short period that appears as a staring spell. Typically, people with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy develop the characteristic myoclonic seizures in adolescence, then develop generalized tonic-clonic seizures a few years later. Although seizures can happen at any time, they occur most commonly in the morning, shortly after awakening. Seizures can be triggered by a lack of sleep, extreme tiredness, stress, or alcohol consumption.