Dr. Mak Choon Soon

According to the consultant neurologist of the Gleneagles Hospital in Kuala Lumpur, Dr Mak Choon Soon, the disease is slightly more prevalent among men than women. It is a disease affecting the elderly where around one per cent of the people over 60 years globally would likely be affected by this disease, Mak said in a health talk on Parkinson's and heart diseases yesterday. He said the disease occurs due to the depletion of nerve cells in the substantia nigra resulting in the reduction of the neurotransmitter dopamine, to disrupt normal basal ganglia activities.

Menurut Dr Mak, sawan berlaku disebabkan ketidakseimbangan isyarat elektrik di bahagian tertentu di dalam otak atau keseluruhan otak walaupun pemeriksaan klinikal tidak menunjukkan sebarang keabnormalan dan pembentukan otak adalah normal. Diagnosis sawan adalah bergantung kepada sejarah klinikal, iaitu diskrepsi kejadian sawan itu, dan dibantu dengan EEG (Electroencephalogram) dan imbasan otak, sama ada imbasan CT atau imbasan MRI otak.