The different types of epilepsy are dependent on the different syndromes which are again dependent, on their turn, and a cluster of features. Thus the different types of epilepsy as defined by their features may include a pattern of seizures that occur at a particular time of the day, the frequency and severity of the seizures, seizure provoking factors, which portion of the brain is involved, hereditary factors or whether the seizures run in the family, causes or risk factors of the seizures, starting age of the seizures – whether infancy or childhood or adulthood or old age, types of seizures, the prospects of worsening or recovery, the possibility of the presence of other disorders and whether there are any particular patterns as caught on the EEG which take place between the seizures and during seizures.
However, you have to be clear about one thing. All the types of epilepsy will not display all of the above features but will definitely exhibit quite a few of them. It is important to know the type of epilepsy the patient is suffering from because that will be helpful in diagnosing the problem, finding out more specialized information about that type of epilepsy which will help to zero in on the correct mode of treatment and medication .
If the doctor gets an inkling of the type of epilepsy that the patient is suffering from, he might also be able to guess or predict if there is any chance for the seizure to disappear or minimize.
Now I shall discuss the commonest types of epilepsy that are frequently noticed. They are parietal lobe epilepsy, occipital lobe epilepsy, frontal lobe epilepsy, temporal lobe epilepsy and absence epilepsy.
Since epilepsy is also known as seizure disorder, we must also look at the types of seizures associated with epilepsy. The two major categories of seizures are generalized seizures and partial seizures. The whole of the brain gets affected by generalized seizures whereas a particular portion of the brain is affected by partial seizures.
Partial epilepsy seizures can again be subdivided into secondarily generalized seizures, aura, complex partial seizures and simple partial seizures.
