INTRODUCTION:
Epilepsy a disorder of the brain which is characterized by an enduring predisposition to generate seizures and by its neurobiological, cognitive, psychological, and social consequences (Nandanavana et al., 2014). Epilepsy is the second most common and frequently encountered neurological condition that imposes heavy burden on individuals, families, and also on healthcare systems (Senthil Amudhan et al., 2015). International League against Epilepsy (ILAE 1993) defined Epilepsy a condition characterized by recurrent (two or more) epileptic seizures, unprovoked by any immediate identified cause (Hauser et al., 1975). According to the World Health Organization (WHO), of the 50 million people with epilepsy worldwide,
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Anyone can be affected by seizures at any age. The causes of primary epilepsy varies significantly unclear whereas for secondary epilepsy they are many conditions causative like head injuries, infections including worm infestations, vascular disease, tumors and subtle developmental abnormalities of the brain hypoxia due to poor medical care at the time of delivery, are the important causes. Many patients have epilepsy without any such detectable brain disease. In most such cases epilepsy is thought to be due to hereditary factors.
ILAE divided the symptomatic epilepsies into ?remote? and ?progressive? types. Remote symptomatic epilepsies encompass conditions such as stroke, head injury, or central nervous system (CNS) infections and progressive symptomatic epilepsy encompasses epilepsies associated with progressive illnesses (e.g. brain tumors or degenerative disease) (Nandanavana et al., 2014). (Bharucha et al., 1988) reported that symptomatic epilepsy constituted 23% (progressive- 2%, remote symptomatic- 21%) and idiopathic epilepsy about 77%, 54% had partial and 46% had generalized seizures. In another study by (Koul et al., 1988) seizure types were found to be partial seizures in 12%, generalized seizures in 79%, and unclassified type in 9% in a population in rural Kashmir. A population-based, case-control study in India reported family history of the epilepsy, antecedent history of febrile seizures, birth by complicated
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Role of Oxidative Stress in Refractory Epilepsy: Evidence in Patients and Experimental Models. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2013; 14: 1455-1476.
Manmohan Krishna Pandey, Purnima Mittra, P.K. Maheshwari. Lipid Peroxidation Product as a Marker of Oxidative Stress in Epilepsy. JCDR. 2012; May (Suppl-2), 6(4): 590-592.
Eun-Joo Shina, Ji Hoon Jeongb, Yoon Hee Chungc, Won-Ki Kimd, Kwang-Ho Koe, Jae-Hyung Bacha, Jau-Shyong Hongf, Yukio Yonedag, and Hyoung-Chun Kim. Role of oxidative stress in epileptic seizures. Neurochem Int. 2011; 59(2): 122?137.
Yao-Chung Chuang, Hung-Yi Chuang, Tsu-Kung Lin, Chiung-Chih Chang, Cheng-Hsien Lu, Wen-Neng Chang, Shang-Der Chen, Teng-Yeow Tan, Chi-Ren Huang, and Samuel H. H. Chan. Effects of long-term antiepileptic drug monotherapy on vascular risk factors and atherosclerosis. Epilepsia. 2012; 53(1):120?128.
Rakesh mudaraddi, ramesh, sameer, amareshwara, Ravindra maradi, anil. B and Beena Shetty. Evaluation of oxidative stress and antioxidant status in Patients with epilepsy. IJPBS. 2011;
Many people with epilepsy usually have more than one type of seizure and may have other symptoms of neurological problems as well. The cause of epilepsy varies by age of the person, but the majority of the time the cause is unknown. Common causes of seizures by age in Elizabeth Otte’s case would be congenital conditions (Down’s syndrome; Angelman's syndrome; tuberous sclerosis and neurofibromatosis), genetics, head trauma, and progressive brain disease which is rare (Schechter & Shafer, Ltd., 2013, p.1). The diagnosis of epilepsy is based on medical history of the patients including family history of seizures. They ask several of questions to figure of what type of seizures the patients could possibly be suffering from. Doctors then preform test such as EEG, take blood, and study images of your brain. Epilepsy is treated by a neurologist specialist that may or may not subscribe medication depending on the severity and frequency of the seizures. Also treatment can be a change in the patients’ diet or
Staff, Mayo Clinic. "Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)." Mayo Clinic. 9 July 2010. Web. 10 Nov. 2014.
Seizures occur because of sudden surge of electrical activity in the brain. This cause is a temporary and disturbed in the messaging system between brain cells. Epilepsy may occur as a result of a genetic disorder or n acquired brain injury, such as trauma or stroke. There are four different kinds of seizures that can occur. Simple partial seizure, which is when the patient is conscious during the seizure in most cases, and the patient, is aware of his/her surrounding even when the seizure is in progress. Complex partial seizure is when the patient is conscious is impaired. The patient will generally not remember the seizure and if he/she does the recollection of it will be vague. Generalized seizure is when both halves of the brain have epileptic activity and the patient conscious is loss. Secondary generalized seizure is when epileptic activity starts as a partial seizure but then spread to both halves of the brain. The main symptom of epilepsy is repeated seizures. But, there are other symptoms such as short spells or black out or confused memory, panic or become fearful, repetitive movement that seem inappropriate, short period the person is unresponsive to instructions or questions etc.… There is no cure for epilepsy but overtime you can help it get better or find ways to adjust to it. You can also take medication, gob through surgery etc.… Epilepsy was a main point in the book because the main character Lia Lee was diagnosed with it. Her culture believed that it was a blessing rather than a disorder. Because of her culture it was impossible for Lia to be treated the way she supposed to be treated. Her parents did take her to get treatment and medication but they also utilized traditional healing methods. The family believed that little medicine and treatment was okay but not too much or that would stop the spiritual healing. In our presentation we talked
Weiner R. D., & Krystal, A.D. (February 1994). The present use of electroconvulsive therapy. Annual Review of Medicine, 45, 273-281.
Currently, there is a lack of studies in regards to whether or not this therapy causes significant damage to the brain. Correspondingly, there is little research done in regards to how great relapse rates are and how long the treatment can truly last. Consequently, many people have abstained from receiving treatment to avoid any possibility of impairment or reversion. However, it has not been denied nor confirmed that ECT directly causes the aforementioned results. Moreover, many theories created to downplay electroconvulsive therapy’s effectiveness are being brought back into the spotlight, including one that attributes ECT’s success to brain damage. Breggin states, “More recently [Harold] Sackeim and Sackeim with a team of colleagues have covertly revived the principle that a therapeutic response depends upon the degree of brain damage and dysfunction” (par. 17). Although this theory was made to discredit ECT, there has been no research done to disprove its accuracy. Furthermore, because of a lack of research, when a new study such as this comes out, many people believe it right away no matter how erroneous it may actually be. More research on ECT is desperately needed to see if these theories are factual or not. As a result of these truths or fallacies, the therapy can be improved upon
Diagnosing Epilepsy can be a long process with lots of steps to follow. When first going thru the process there will need to be a confirmation of parent history. Then there will be a full neurological exam followed by blood and clinical tests, to make sure it wasn’t some other type of episode such as fainting. Apart from the neurological exam, the EEG is the best tool to diagnosing seizures and epilepsy. Then the doctor will identify the type of seizures and do a clinical evaluation to determine the cause of epilepsy. Now depending on the results they will determine the best type of treatment.
Several strides have been made in the medical field in regards to electroconvulsive therapy. The treatment is defined as “a medical procedure in which a brief electrical stimulus is used to induce a cerebral seizure under controlled conditions” (Enns, Reiss & Chan, 2010). It is used for a handful of mental illnesses, such as major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia, but when it was introduced in 1938 by Ugo Cerletti and Lucio Bin, its main use was to treat schizophrenia (Enns, Reiss & Chan, 2010). ECT can indeed be effective for schizophrenia, but the best results are when the “… duration of [the] illness is relatively brief or when catatonic or affective symptoms are prominent” (Enns, Reiss & Chan, 2010). Unlike schizophrenia, the best results from ECT have come from treatments with patients who have been diagnosed with major depressive disorder and alternative methods are no longer working...
Psychiatrists observed that after spontaneous epileptic seizure the psychiatric conditions of patients improved. Previously, in the sixteenth-century, Paracelsus, a Swiss physician and alchemist gave camphor by mouth to produce convulsions and to cure lunacy. Originally, the induced convulsions treated severe catatonic stupors and schizophrenia. Today we know the convulsions are secondary to grand mal seizures in the brain, and that the seizure is the primary therapeutic agent of electroconvuslive therapy (ECT). Metrazol and Cardiazol later replaced Camphor because of its rapid onset. The extremely unpleasant sensations led investigators to seek alternative methods and electroconvulsive therapy was born. Electrical stimulation first tested epileptic seizures on dogs and pigs, and its first treatment helped a delusional, hallucinating homeless man diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1938. After chronic administration of ECT, the patient fully recovered.
Epilepsy, also known as “seizure disorder,” or “seizure attack,” is the fourth most common neurological disorder known to mankind, affecting an estimated 2.3 million adults and 467,711 children in the United States. Unfortunately this disorder is becoming far more common and widespread worldwide. This staggering number of cases of people suffering from Epilepsy also involves an average growth rate of 150,000 new cases each year in the United States alone. Generally, many of the people who develop who are a part of the new are mainly either young children or older adults. Your brain communicates through chemical and electrical signals that are all specialized for specific tasks. However, through the process of communication, chemical messengers, also known as neurotransmitters can suddenly fail, resulting in what is known as a seizure attack. Epilepsy occurs when a few too many brain cells become excited, or activated simultaneously, so that the brain cannot function properly and to it’s highest potential. Epilepsy is characterized when there is an abnormal imbalance in the chemical activity of the brain, leading to a disruption in the electrical activity of the brain. This disruption specifically occurs in the central nervous system (CNS), which is the part of the nervous system that contains the brain and spinal cord. This causes an interruption in communication between presynaptic neurons and postsynaptic neurons; between the axon of one neuron, the message sender and the dendrite of another neuron, the message recipient. Consequently, the effects that epileptic seizures may induce may range anywhere from mild to severe, life-threatening ramifications and complications. There are many different types of seizures associa...
Not everyone who has a seizure has epilepsy. Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disorder characterized by recurrent, unprovoked seizures. Unprovoked means that there is no immediate cause for the seizure, such as a fever, an infection of the brain, or head trauma. Nearly 10 percent of people will have a seizure during their lifetime; most of these are provoked seizures during an acute illness or condition. These people may never have epilepsy. There are two types of seizures people can have. One is partial seizure or focal they begin in one part of the brain. They cause varied symptoms auras which is a funny feeling in your stomach, staring, chewing, lip smacking, shaking, or stiffness in parts of the body. Generalized seizures are when the entire brain is effected. This causes loss consciousness. One type is grand mal is when the body stiffens and jerks. Another type is petit mal, which is momentary loss of consciousness without abnormal body movement. Some factors of this are infections of the brain this includes meningitis, encephalitis, and brain abscess. Strokes are also a risk of epilepsy. Also alcohol can cause seizures for heavy drinkers when they stop drinking abruptly (withdrawal seizures) and also have a good chance of epilepsy. Epilepsy can also cause brain tumors usually they are slow growing and don't affect them for years. Some other factors that cause epilepsy is age the risk of seizures is higher in young children. Also gender epilepsy is higher in males than in females. The most common treatment for epilepsy is the daily use of anticonvulsant or antiepilectic drugs to prevent seizures. These medications act on brain signals to limit hyperexcitability. While medications do not cure epilepsy, they allow many people to live normal, active lives. Other treatments are vagus nerve stimulation this treatment involves electronic stimulation of the brain using an implanted device like a pacemaker. Another is epilepsy surgery this is when a part of the brain that is causing the seizures is removed so that it prevents it from spreading to anther part of the brain.
Later, the doctors told me I had epilepsy, specifically the type known as grand mal. Immediately, the doctors put me on some medications to prevent the seizures. They also gave my parents a bunch of packets of information about epilepsy. When I got older, some of those packets informed me that 20-25 million people have suffered from an epileptic seizure. Many people grow out of childhood epilepsy or they take medicine to control it. However, there is still a risk of having a seizure even if you take medication. Over the past few years, I have become increasingly aware of the chance of a seizure at any time.
...rain. Glutamate antagonists have been successful in treating various animal models of epilepsy and by effectively protecting against epilepsy brain damage.
This paper is going to discuss the condition Epilepsy. Epilepsy is defined as a disorder of the brain characterized by the recurrence of unprovoked seizures (Shorvon, 2009). Epilepsy starts in your brain, the brain is like a computer, it is made up of a mass of cells, called neurons, which connect to each other in very complicated ways (Routh, 2004). Electrical messages are constantly being passed from one neuron to another down nerves to the muscles in the body (Mair, 2004). If a person has epilepsy, these cells sometimes send a sudden, unexpected burst of electrical impulses, which causes a seizure (Routh, 2004). When the seizure finishes the brain behaves normally again. For some people with epilepsy these seizures happen every day. For others they may happen only once or twice a year (Routh, 2004). There are over 40 different types of seizure and each person is slightly different, but there are a few common types (Routh, 2004). Generalized seizures which affect the whole brain and partial seizures which affect a small part of the brain (Miller, 2013). The most common types of ge...