Abdominal Epilepsy in Children and Adults
They propose these criteria for the diagnosis of abdominal epilepsy:
Medical and neurologic testing might include:
Abdominal epilepsy is treated like other forms of epilepsy, with anticonvulsant drugs. Dilantin (phenytoin) is often used. Since no controlled studies exist, though, other drugs might be equally effective.
In the known cases of abdominal epilepsy, treatment with epilepsy drugs has usually significantly reduced abdominal symptoms. That's not proof that the abdominal symptoms were caused by seizures, though. Epilepsy drugs act on nerves in general. They might simply soothe abdominal pain that way, or through a placebo effect.
In this article
- What Are the Symptoms of Abdominal Epilepsy?
- What Causes Abdominal Epilepsy?
- How Is Abdominal Epilepsy Diagnosed?
- What Is the Treatment for Abdominal Epilepsy?
How Is Abdominal Epilepsy Diagnosed? continued...
They propose these criteria for the diagnosis of abdominal epilepsy:
- periodic abdominal symptoms that can't be explained after extensive medical testing, including blood tests, imaging scans, and endoscopy
- symptoms that suggest a central nervous system problem (for example, confusion or lethargy)
- an abnormal electroencephalogram (EEG)
- sustained absence of abdominal symptoms while taking an epilepsy medication
Medical and neurologic testing might include:
- computed tomography (CT) scans of the abdomen and brain
- magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan of the brain
- ultrasound of the abdomen
- endoscopy of the gastrointestinal tract, either upper (through the mouth), lower (through the rectum), or both
- blood tests
- electroencephalogram (EEG)
What Is the Treatment for Abdominal Epilepsy?
Abdominal epilepsy is treated like other forms of epilepsy, with anticonvulsant drugs. Dilantin (phenytoin) is often used. Since no controlled studies exist, though, other drugs might be equally effective.
In the known cases of abdominal epilepsy, treatment with epilepsy drugs has usually significantly reduced abdominal symptoms. That's not proof that the abdominal symptoms were caused by seizures, though. Epilepsy drugs act on nerves in general. They might simply soothe abdominal pain that way, or through a placebo effect.