Abstract
The history of epilepsy is an associate of humanity, and the reports date back to antiquity. Almost all ancient cultures, including the Babylonians, Egyptians, Greeks, Indians in pre-Buddhist period, Iranians, Chinese, and Byzantine epoch, bear witness to epilepsy. Therefore, the earliest beginnings of surgical treatment and epilepsy surgery can be traced back to antiquity. Trepanation as an attempt to treat the disease has often been found in prehistorical tombs (Neolithicum). In antiquity, fasting, a healthy diet, regulation of excretions, medical gymnastics and a decent lifestyle were used as treatment for epilepsy as a non-surgical solution. In the Middle Ages, the basis for treatment fell into three main categories: Conventional (diet and botanical remedies), magical (phases of the moon, trephining of the skull) and religious beliefs (fasting, prayer, exorcisms, and social marginalization). The first neurosurgical operations on epileptic patients with focal semiology were performed during the early 19th century, and began with Godlee, Sommer, Macewen and later Horsley. From that time on, discoveries on epilepsy surgery progressed at a faster pace that started in a historical journey from ancient times until the end of the 20th century.
Highlights
Historical archives of epilepsy have existed since 2,500 years B.C., and described accurately all clinical characteristics that are well-known today
Hippocrates questioned the natural opinion that epilepsy was a disease: 1) is not divine, 2) is not a sacred disease, 3) has the same origin as other illnesses, and 4) prognosis is worse in children than in adults
He even went as far as to propose a neurosurgical procedure as a treatment and that a craniotomy should be performed on the opposite side of the brain for seizure control in order to spare the patients from the phlegma that was causing the disease [7, 8]
Summary
Historical archives of epilepsy have existed since 2,500 years B.C., and described accurately all clinical characteristics that are well-known today. Hippocrates questioned the natural opinion that epilepsy was a disease: 1) is not divine, 2) is not a sacred disease, 3) has the same origin as other illnesses, and 4) prognosis is worse in children than in adults. He even went as far as to propose a neurosurgical procedure as a treatment and that a craniotomy should be performed on the opposite side of the brain for seizure control in order to spare the patients from the phlegma that was causing the disease [7, 8]. In comparison to the many books written on this topic, this document references a significant number of ancient texts up to the end of the 20th century
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