The Symptoms of Myoclonic Epilepsy

Myoclonic epilepsy is a brain disorder that is characterized by brief, jerky spasms of a muscle or group of muscles. The seizure or muscular spasm is likened to a hiccup in nonepileptics in terms of the duration of each individual spasm. Unlike hiccups, however, symptoms of myoclonus (involuntary twitching of a muscle or group of muscles), once they've made their appearance, may continue throughout the life of an affected patient.

• Epilepsy is a disorder of the brain.

Types

• According to Epilepsy.com, myoclonic seizures are seen in three main types of epilepsy: juvenile myoclonic epilepsy, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and progressive myoclonic epilepsy. The juvenile type is the most widely diagnosed by far, while the other two are less commonly seen and more severe in symptoms and long-term prognosis.

Symptoms

• The symptoms of juvenile myoclonic epilepsy most often are manifested as seizures involving the neck, shoulder and upper arms. Such seizures often occur shortly after the patient wakes up in the morning. Lennox-Gastaut symptoms usually combine myoclonic episodes with other types of seizures. Like the seizures in juvenile myoclonus, the neck, shoulder and upper arms are often involved, although in Lennox-Gastaut the muscles of the face also may be affected. The progressive type of myoclonus is the most serious, combining myoclonic seizures with tonic-clonic seizures. The latter generally involve the entire body and are also known as grand mal seizures.

Prognosis

• In the early stages of the disorder, the symptoms of juvenile myoclonic epilepsy may be limited to myoclonic seizures. However, the condition usually grows progressively more serious with generalized tonic-clonic seizures eventually making their appearance after two or three years. In the two other types of myoclonic epilepsy, tonic-clonic seizures usually are present to some degree from the outset. However, in all cases---mild, moderate or severe---epilepsy is likely to continue throughout the patient's life.

Causes

• The University of Maryland Medical Center reports that the cause of epilepsy in most of its forms---including those with myoclonic episodes---is deemed idiopathic, or unknown. In something less than 30 percent of all epilepsy cases, the cause is determined to be brain injury or damage as a result of trauma, illness or infection. However, the symptoms of epilepsy, myoclonic or otherwise, are the result of disordered electrical activity in the brain.

Treatment

• There is no cure for epilepsy, although its symptoms can be controlled with medication and, in extreme cases, surgical intervention. Antiepileptic medications are effective in the vast majority of patients, but for those whose symptoms are not controlled by those drugs, other options exist, according to MayoClinic.com. These include dietary adjustments, vagus nerve stimulation, and surgery. A ketogenic diet---high in fats and low in carbs---has proved helpful to some patients, particularly children. Vagus nerve stimulation involves the implantation of a pacemaker-like device that sends electrical impulses to the brain that reduce the incidence of seizures. Surgical removal of the brain segment causing seizures is sometimes undertaken if that section of the brain is determined to have no bearing on vital functions.