In this episode, I use illustrative patient memoirs to discuss its diverse and deceptive causes and manifestations.
I also use historical stories, such as that of composer George Gershwin, to illustrate the challenge of making a diagnosis of seizures.
I also explore the manifold mimics of epilepsy, particularly exploring how fainting can easily be mistaken for an epileptic event.
The podcast also goes back in history to trace the first documentation of epilepsy and the revolutionary impact of English neurologist John Hughlings Jackson in our understanding of the disease, and the work of William Gowers in elucidating the nature of epileptic auras.
I also review the complications of epilepsy such as sudden death in epilepsy, SUDEP.
