Question
My son has been experiencing unexplained whole-body tremors lately, and sometimes he will fall to the ground by himself, only to wake up with no knowledge of what happened. We are very worried. After seeing a doctor, he was diagnosed with pediatric tic disorder. I want to know if there is any relationship between this tic disorder and epilepsy?
Answer
Actually, tic disorder and epilepsy are two different diseases, although they may have some similar symptoms during an attack. Tic disorder is a childhood disease caused by a neurological dysfunction, characterized mainly by eye blinking, head shaking, throat clearing, shrugging, flinging hands, kicking legs, twisting the body, saying dirty words, and involuntary limb twitches. Epilepsy, also known as “sacred epilepsy,” is a disease caused by abnormal discharge of neurons in the brain, leading to a temporary brain dysfunction. It can be diagnosed by detecting the presence of epilepsy waves in the brain waves through an electroencephalogram (EEG).