00:00According to Pediatric Neurologist Dr. Venita Shukla, epilepsy is not contagious, but the
00:06cause of the disease is still unknown in about 50% of cases globally, and the causes of epilepsy
00:12are divided into a few categories, structural, genetic, infectious, immune, and unknown.
00:19There are a number of different causes, so when we say we don't find a cause, it's called
00:25idiopathic or unknown. Then there may be structural causes, so in kids especially,
00:32when their, when parents, moms are pregnant, it could be that, you know, a gene, a genetic
00:40condition very early on, and then it only presents later on as a seizure, where there
00:46might just be abnormal folding in one specific part of the brain, or it might be a small lesion
00:52that is slow growing, right, so it could be a benign tumor, so those are some of the structural
00:58causes. In our population, because we are a tropical country, we have a higher incidence
01:05of having infections, viral infections, and because of our ethnicities as well, we have
01:12a higher predisposition to autoimmune conditions, so like autoimmune, meaning your body would
01:19produce antibodies against a certain virus, and then those antibodies go from good to
01:26bad, and start affecting your own body, so it affects your own brain. Dr. Shukla explains
01:33what a person should do if they ever witness someone having a seizure, as there are many
01:38misconceptions. If a patient is having a tonic-clonic seizure, or a FIT, where their body jerks
01:45and stiffens, that's a common one that we would see. What we educate persons to do is
01:54to try to stay calm, and it's very hard, especially as a parent, but try to stay calm, put on
02:00a timer, always time it, turn them to their side. By turning them to their side, their
02:07tongue moves to the side, and it clears the airway, right, so that's the main thing. The
02:12pediatric neurologist says seizures can be controlled, and people living with epilepsy
02:17could become seizure-free with the appropriate use of medication. She says a seizure is not
02:23a death sentence, as there are several avenues that could be used to help people who suffer
02:28with the disease. Sharla Kisto, TV6 News.
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