Leonel Marines is a community-focused leader whose career has included service in nonprofit management, law enforcement, education, and volunteer work. Currently serving as executive director of Epilepsy Services of Southwest Florida, Leonel Marines oversees strategic initiatives, financial management, staff development, fundraising efforts, and organizational reporting. He works closely with individuals and families affected by epilepsy, advocating for their needs and helping support access to resources and services. Prior to his nonprofit leadership role, he spent more than a decade in law enforcement, eventually serving as a patrol sergeant, and later expanded his public service experience through educational roles. With a background that combines leadership, community engagement, and direct involvement with epilepsy-related services, Mr. Marines is connected to a field where public awareness and understanding of neurological conditions such as epilepsy remain important topics.
An Overview of Epileptic Seizures and Management Options
Epilepsy is a neural condition characterized by recurring seizures. Individuals may develop one of several different types of epilepsy. Depending on the type of epilepsy, a person can experience various seizure symptoms. Understanding the specifics of an epilepsy diagnosis is critical to minimizing the risks associated with seizures.
Before exploring and learning to mitigate the risks of epileptic seizures, people should familiarize themselves with the different types of seizures. Medical professionals broadly categorize seizures as focal or generalized. Focal seizures result from activity in one specific part of the brain. A focal seizure with preserved consciousness does not involve a loss of consciousness, but may alter a person’s emotions or senses. Déjà vu is another potential symptom, along with the convulsing of a body part, such as a leg or arm. Focal seizures with impaired consciousness are similar, but include a change or complete loss of consciousness. Other types range from temporal lobe seizures to occipital lobe seizures.
Generalized seizures occur following activity in multiple parts of the brain. People can experience a wide range of generalized seizures. Absence seizures, for example, are more common in children and involve the person staring into space for five to 10 seconds, sometimes with very subtle body movements. These seizures can occur up to 100 times per day, usually causing a brief loss of awareness.
A tonic-clonic seizure, meanwhile, causes a complete loss of consciousness and involves severe shaking and twitching throughout the body. These seizures may trigger bladder symptoms and cause a person to bite their tongue. Additional types of generalized seizures include tonic seizures, atonic seizures, clonic seizures, and myoclonic seizures.
Regardless of the specific symptoms, people should contact medical professionals immediately after experiencing their first symptoms. Doctors will only consider an epilepsy diagnosis after a person experiences two seizures without a clearly identifiable cause that occur at least 24 hours apart.
After a person receives an epilepsy diagnosis, they can start to learn more about the condition and how to manage seizures. A common approach to treatment is anti-seizure medications, which allow many people to lead seizure-free lives. Even if a person cannot completely eliminate seizures, anti-seizure medicine usually mitigates the frequency and severity of symptoms. Oftentimes, especially with children, people can stop taking medication after a few years and continue to live without seizures, though the process of finding the correct medicine and dosage can prove challenging.
In some cases, people may benefit from surgical intervention. During these procedures, surgeons remove the part of the brain that is causing the seizures. Surgery is only an option if seizures originate in a small, clearly defined part of the brain, and if surgeons can complete the procedure without impacting vital bodily functions, such as speech, movement, hearing, or vision. As an alternative to major surgery, minimally invasive, MRI-guided stereotactic laser ablation can mitigate seizure symptoms for some people.
People can further address seizure symptoms through various therapeutic techniques. Vagus nerve stimulation, for example, uses a battery-powered device that can reduce seizure frequency by up to 40 percent. Deep brain stimulation and responsive neurostimulation can also help.
Finally, a shift to a ketogenic diet (one that is high in fats and low in carbohydrates) can reduce the occurrence of seizures. Researchers continue to pursue more effective treatments, ranging from new types of minimally invasive surgery to therapeutic techniques such as continuous stimulation of the seizure onset zone.
About Leonel Marines
Leonel Marines serves as the executive director of Epilepsy Services of Southwest Florida, where he oversees strategic initiatives, financial management, fundraising, staff development, and organizational operations. His professional background includes more than a decade in law enforcement, culminating in a patrol sergeant role, as well as experience in education and community service. He holds a juris doctor from Western Michigan University’s Thomas M. Cooley Law School and a political science degree from Florida State University. Outside of work, he volunteers as an ESL teacher and scholarship-review volunteer.