Doctors are warning of a form of epilepsy with symptoms so subtle most patients don’t realize they have it – following the sudden death of a YouTube star.
Epilepsy – in which the brain’s signaling system goes haywire – affects a deceptively large number of Americans, about one in 25.
A subgroup of them have so-called ‘silent attacks’, or absence attacks, which often go unnoticed for years and can be potentially life-threatening.
They often have more subtle symptoms than the jerking, convulsing, or difficulty breathing associated with another type of seizure, the more commonly recognized generalized seizure.
But silent attacks can still be fatal, causing a person to stop breathing or lead to a life-threatening drop in blood oxygen levels.
Epileptic seizures can vary enormously and take many different forms. However, of all of them, the most common type of seizure in people with epilepsy is called a focal seizure or silent seizure
YouTube star Annabelle Ham died suddenly at the age of 22 after suffering an epileptic seizure
The YouTuber was last seen walking on a pier at the end of Molokai Lane in Fairhope, police say
Silent seizures originate in only one part of the brain, unlike generalized seizures, which are the result of abnormal neuronal activity that quickly emerges in both hemispheres.
The subtle symptoms of silent attacks may include sensations of a dream-like state while awake, wandering, confusion, staring into space, a sense of deja vu, nausea, repeated blinking or swallowing, and sudden and unexplained feelings of joy, anger, or sadness.
Earlier this week, Atlanta YouTube star Annabelle Ham has died after suffering an epileptic seizure. The star’s older sister, Alexandria, posted on Facebook that Ms Ham died following an ‘epileptic event’.
Her sister said Mrs Ham was probably walking along a pier and she may have fallen into the water. Authorities later retrieved Ms Ham’s body from the water.
Her sister revealed that the influencer had been secretly suffering from epilepsy, a neurological condition, for years. It is not known what kind of epilepsy Mrs Ham had and an official cause of death has not been released.
Epileptic seizures, which can last from a few seconds to several minutes, can vary widely and take many different forms.
In fact, doctors have previously described more than 30 different types of seizures.
While epilepsy can be diagnosed in anyone and silent seizures can occur, it may be more common in people who have had a head injury, brain infection, stroke, or brain tumor. In addition, epilepsy can be caused by an underlying structural abnormality in the brain, or in some cases, be genetic.
However, the cause is often unknown.
Annabelle’s sister said the influencer had been secretly suffering from the chronic neurological condition for years
Professional football player Alan Faneca was diagnosed with focal seizures after undergoing numerous tests.
He told Epsy that his first episode was unsuspecting. It woke him up in the middle of the night, disoriented and upset, but eventually went away. After similar events recurred several more times, he sought medical evaluation and was eventually diagnosed with epilepsy.
A 2020 study conducted by New York University found that it can take an average of two years for doctors to recognize the first signs of silent epilepsy, especially in the subgroup of patients whose seizures do not involve uncontrolled movements.
Dr. Jacqueline French, director of The Epilepsy Study Consortium at NYU Langone Health, who worked on the study, said its results highlight how subtle the signs of silent epilepsy are and stresses that doctors “need to recognize them much better before people go undiagnosed, untreated and with the potential to cause harm.”
And because these episodes are characterized by such discrete symptoms, the number of people suffering from them is likely much higher than estimated.
The study of dr. French looked at data collected from 447 patients with epilepsy between the ages of 12 and 60. It found that 246 patients took up to six years to receive a diagnosis after experiencing the first signs of non-motor seizures. A finding of the study found that 23 patients had one or more car accidents because of their seizures, including 19 with undiagnosed non-motor seizures.
Researchers estimate that for every 13 early diagnoses, one car accident, or an estimated 1,816 accidents per year, could have been prevented worldwide.
In addition to a thorough medical history, a number of tests are performed to determine if a person has epilepsy and, if so, what types of seizures a person suffers from. These include blood tests, neurological or behavioral tests, and medical imaging.
An electroencephalogram, or EEG, a test that measures electrical activity in the brain using small metal discs attached to the scalp, can assess whether there are detectable abnormalities in a person’s brain waves. This test can determine if antiepileptic drugs would benefit the patient.
Other tests that may be ordered include an MRI and a computed tomography, also called a CT.
Once a diagnosis has been made, medication is very effective in managing most of the symptoms of epilepsy, the most common being anticonvulsants. There are more than 20 of these drugs available today, each with different benefits and side effects. All of them must be prescribed and supervised by a doctor. In some cases, patients may benefit from only one drug regimen, while others may require multiple medications.
However, in some cases, seizures cannot be controlled and may be considered “drug-resistant epilepsy,” according to the Epilepsy Foundation. Studies suggest that the condition cannot be controlled quickly with medication in about a third of adults.
In this case, lifestyle changes can be made to help manage attacks, including limiting alcohol intake, getting enough sleep, avoiding stress, and avoiding flashing lights.