Comic book “We'll make it” - Sanofi

Epilepsy, what is it ?
Epilepsy is a condition characterized by the occurrence of epileptic seizures. More than one person in 100 has
epilepsy in developing countries.
Most do not have other problems besides epilepsy, but some do, such as psychological difficulties.
Epileptic seizures are varied:
The «big seizure», also called Grand Mal seizure, is the most dramatic one: there is first a stiffening of the whole body, then a fall,
followed by jerks of all four limbs, then the person sleeps, sometimes for several hours. Lamine had this type of seizure when he
stopped his medication.
The least impressive seizure is a simple blackout, called an «absence», that lasts only for a few seconds. Lamine had absences,
and the one recorded in the hospital allowed his doctors to make a precise diagnosis and to choose the right medication.
Between these two extremes, there are more or less impressive, more or less dangerous seizures that affect only a part of the
brain : they are called partial or focal seizures. Keifa probably had this type of seizures, which were due to a scar in his brain.
How do doctors make a diagnosis of epilepsy?
In order to be sure that a person has epileptic seizures, the doctor will gather a maximum of
information. The best solution is to witness a seizure directly, or to see one filmed by the patient’s
family (for instance on a cellular phone). The doctor will ask many questions and try to find an
explanation, a cause for the epilepsy. In many cases, like for Lamine, there is no precise cause.