Epilepsy, also known as a seizure disorder, is a chronic neurological condition that affects an estimated 2.9 million people in the United States alone – over half of the cases beginning in childhood (Carlton-Ford et al., 1995). It is characterized by recurrent, and unprovoked seizures, which are abnormal electrical activities in the brain cells, occurring more than 24 hours apart (“Genetic Testing for Epilepsy,” 2012). There are two types of seizures that are characteristic of epilepsy: generalized and partial seizures. The first type—generalized seizures—involves the entire brain from the onset of the attack and is classified into two subtypes: tonic-clonic seizures and absence seizures. During tonic-clonic seizures, the more common type …show more content…
However, epilepsy is not contagious. The study also discovered that people overemphasize the role of heredity, believing that 67% of most cases of epilepsy are inherited (Kwon et al., 2006). Though genetics does play a role, specifically in that someone with a close relative with epilepsy has a slightly higher risk for it than someone with no family history of seizures, epilepsy is not inherited in the same way that eye color is passed down, for example. According to this study as well as Doughty et al. (2003), people express the fear that seizures could damage the brain, specifically by terminating brain cells. However, though severe seizures can cause brain damage, most seizures do not seem to have detrimental effects on the brain. Finally, another common misconception is that regular exercise can provoke a seizure. However, most previous studies have indicated that physical exercise rarely triggers seizures but instead offers moderate seizure protection (Nakken et al., 1990). In another study analyzing treatment of epilepsy, Roseman and Taylor (1952) also advise regular exercise because an individual suffering epilepsy in good physical condition has fewer and less severe attacks than one who is in poor …show more content…
Individuals who suffer from epilepsy drastically differ in many characteristics, such as the frequency and severity of the seizures, age, comorbidity, medical history, and overall health, so the antiepileptic drug strategy should be tailored to each patient’s seizure type (Rugg-Gunn and Sanders, 2012). Some examples of medication include Carbamazepine and Valium. While taking AEDs, it is important to monitor blood levels, occurrence of side effects, and seizure frequency in order to manage drug treatment and decide whether to continue, discontinue, or change drugs/dosage. Other non-epilepsy drugs may also lower the seizure threshold, including antidepressants and antipsychotics (Rugg-Gunn and Sanders,
Epilepsy can happen to anyone of any age. The largest(47%) percent of people, developing epilepsy for the first time, being children from birth to nine years of age. The next largest age group would be ten year olds to ninteen year olds at 30%. The least amount of first time seizures comes from the forty plus age group. (According to EFA publications) Over 2.5 million people suffer from epilepsy. The international league against epilepsy describes a seizure as an alternative term for "epileptic attack". Seizures vary in there length and severity. A "tonic-clonic" seizure can last for one to seven minutes. " Absence seizures usually last for a few seconds. However, complex partial seizure" may last for thirty seconds or two
Epilepsy is not what you think. It is a complicated disease, a disease that doesn't just affect one type of person or age. Over fifty million men, women, and children cope with this disease daily. Epilepsy is a mysterious disease to those who are unfamiliar and uneducated about the disease. Many people have preconceived notions about Epileptics. Researching the topic thoroughly, the five preconceived notions I explored have been proven to be false.
How attention was brought to epilepsy. First, 2.3 million people have epilepsy in America and one in twenty-six people can get epilepsy in their lifetime (“Facts”). The future of research for seizure disorders are focused on brain imaging. Epilepsy can run in the family, can cause head injuries, alcohol abuse (“Multiple”), and driving can be dangerous (Haugen 22).
Neuronal messages are transmitted by electrical impulses called the Action Potential. This is actually a net positive inward ion flux that leads to depolarization or voltage change in the neuronal membrane. The ions involved include sodium, potassium, calcium and chloride. Normally brain tissues prevent hyper excitability by several inhibitory mechanisms involving negative ions like chloride ions.
Seizure disorders, according to the Mayo Clinic (2015), affect approximately 1 in 26 people in the United States. Persistent, or chronic, seizures result from a condition called epilepsy, a neurological disorder of the central nervous system. It can affect anyone regardless of age, but is more common during early childhood and after age 60. Given the number of people that seizure disorders, such as epilepsy, affect, it becomes helpful to gain a foundational understanding of the disease, including some of the causes, symptoms, and treatments available.
Epilepsy is a brain disorder in which individuals have recurrent seizures. Seizures can occur in children and adults of any age. There are around 50 million people in the world who has the disorder. Individuals in developing countries are at a higher risk for developing the disorder. Seizures occur due to hyper-excitability and hyper-synchronization of neurons. Action potential transmits messages and it leads to depolarization. When neurons are uncontrollably depolarizes because of hyper-excitability due to too little inhibition, it cause a seizure. Seizures can last from a few seconds to a few minutes. As spontaneously they can develop is also as fast and spontaneous they can end.
Epilepsy is a complicated neurological disorder that affects the central nervous system, specifically the brain. It can be caused by the over-excitation of neurons, which occurs when the electrical activity is irregular or when two or more unprovoked seizures arise. The left hemisphere communicates to the right hemisphere by sending signals in order to let it know what’s going on (vice versa). In epilepsy, the signal goes back and forth, resulting in a positive feedback. Positive feedback is a self-amplifying cycle, where a physiological change leads to a greater change in the same direction. As the stimulus goes back and forth, rapidly it gets bigger each time, hence the stimulus process becomes unstable, and an epilepsy can occur. This
When I was eight years old I learned what epilepsy was. My family was in the car driving to get dinner, with my dad driving. We were stopped at a stop light, and when it turned green we never moved. My mother looked over at my dad and realized he was having a seizure. At the time I did not know what that was; all I remember is a blur of my sister calling 911, and us going to the hospital. It was one of the scariest moments of my life; I thought my dad was dying. Later that night my mom explained to us what a seizure was, and that he was going to be okay. This was the first time my dad had a seizure, and the doctors did not know why. He was sent home from the emergency room that night with no answers and a shaken up family.
Epilepsy, also called seizure disorder, chronic brain disorder that briefly interrupts the normal electrical activity of the brain to cause seizures, characterized by a variety of symptoms including uncontrolled movements of the body, disorientation or confusion, sudden fear, or loss of consciousness. Epilepsy may result from a head injury, stroke, brain tumor, lead poisoning, genetic conditions, or severe infections like meningitis or encephalitis. In over 70 percent of cases no cause for epilepsy were identified. About 1 percent of the world population, or over 2 million people, are diagnosed with epilepsy.
VPA, carbamazepine and phenobarbitone were the most commonly used traditional AEDs in our study. Previous studies showed a significant decrease in the serum level of fT4 and increase in the serum level of TSH in patients treated with VPA; and these changes persisted throughout study period[8,11,26,27,28]. In a study conducted on adolescent girls with epilepsy, the group received VPA showed higher serum levels of TSH and lower serum levels of fT4 than did the untreated group, although still within the normal range[9]. Other studies found that TSH levels increased in patients using VPA while fT4 levels were found to be unchanged[12,26,29,30].3,4,9,11 On the other side, some studies found that both fT4 and TSH concentrations were unaffected in patients treated with VPA[10,30]
Epilepsy Research Paper People most often associate violent twitching, falling to the floor and drooling with epilepsy. However the described event is only one kind of an epileptic seizure, which is called a tonic-clonic seizure. There are many other kinds of seizures, and each has different sets of signs and symptoms. During generalized seizures the whole brain is affected and the initial symptom is loss of consciousness. This category includes such seizures as absence seizure, myoclonic seizure, and atonic attack.
Epilepsy is a condition in which a person has two or more seizures affecting a variety of mental and physical functions. Epilepsy is one of the oldest conditions of the human race. Epilepsy Awareness is important because Epilepsy is a widely misunderstood disorder. The reason that Epilepsy has been misunderstood has been mainly due to research not being conducted until the middle of the nineteenth century. There are six main types of seizures and many treatments that can assist an epileptic patient. Many facts and myths exist about a person who has Epilepsy, which, is why it is an important disorder to understand. A person living with Epilepsy can typically have a normal life after seeking medical advice from doctors.
Treatment for epilepsy is often focused on controlling the seizures with the least amount of medication as possible. Antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) are the class used to accomplish this. Some of the AEDs that are used most often are Clonazepam, Diazepam, Divalproex, Gabapentin, and Phenytoin. The most common side effects of these medications include nausea, vomiting, sedation, fatigue, and lethargy. (Kwan,1; Benbadis, 3-5; Huethers,637)
Epilepsy is a neurological condition of the brain that is also known as seizure disorder causing an individual to have recurrent seizures (“Epilepsy and Seizures”). Epilepsy and seizures are often interchangeable when defining a neurological condition; both involve the nervous system. The primary difference is that epilepsy is a disorder and seizures are considered a symptom. An individual can experience changes in behavior and their ability to focus. The seizures happen when the electrical activity of the brain is disturbed and causes them to experience involuntary jerking of the muscles, experience an altered state of consciousness or other peculiar behaviors. Epilepsy is
Epilepsy is a chronic disorder in which 65 million of human beings around the world are suffering from. Nearly 3 million of them suffer from epilepsy in the United States. 1 out of 26 people in the United States will develop epilepsy at some point in their lifetime. One third of the people who live with epilepsy struggle with uncontrolled seizures because the available treatment that there is does not have any affect on them. Epilepsy is worldwide known to being an unknown cause of multiple seizures which can also later on in life affect the person in the long run. To this day there is medical treatment available to those affected, but in some cases for some people this medication does not