Temporal Lobe Epilepsy: Symptoms, Causes & Understanding

Temporal lobe epilepsy is a seizure disorder characterized by complex partial seizures, which are seizures in which the person seems conscious but is in a trance-like state and not aware of her surroundings.

Causes

• Temporal lobe epilepsy can be caused by a head injury, meningitis or other brain infection. Many times the cause of the epilepsy remains unknown.

Symptoms

• The signs of temporal lobe epilepsy are: being unaware of surroundings, staring, smacking of the lips, and aura, which is a show of lights or shapes in front of the patient's eyes.

Complications

• Some complications that may occur as a result of temporal lobe epilepsy are visual and auditory hallucinations, acute confusion and altered personality.

Diagnosis

• Diagnosis of temporal lobe epilepsy is generally done by MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) or EEG (electroencephalogram).

Treatment

• Temporal lobe epilepsy can be treated with seizure medications or by removing part of the affected temporal lobe. The surgery has an 80 percent success rate of complete cure.