Partial Seizures In High-Income Countries

Seizures are classified into two broad categories primarily generalized and partial seizures. A generalized seizure is characterized by loss of consciousness. There are several sub types of generalized seizure. The first is an absence seizure, this usually consist of brief spells of staring. This type of generalized seizure usually begins in early childhood and diminishes as the child grows older. However, absence seizures may continue until adulthood in some individuals (McKean, 2012). Next, myoclonic seizures are characterized by quick jerking movements. Atonic seizures display a sudden loss of tone and individuals frequently experience injuries related to falls. Generalized tonic clonic seizures display a tonic extension of extremities followed by clonic jerking. There can be variations of this type of seizure activity demonstrating either more tonic motion or clonic (McKean, 2012). Partial seizures initiate when there is an abnormal firing of neurons within the cerebral cortex. This area within the cerebral cortex dictates the symptoms of the seizure activity. A partial seizure can develop into a general seizure if both hemispheres are involved (McKean, 2012). Partial seizures are subdivided into simple and complex. In a complex partial seizure, the individual loses conciseness and has symptoms like lip smacking, staring, picking at clothes, walking around aimlessly. In a simple partial seizure the individual is awake and aware of the episode. The individual may

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).

(The Epilepsy of Central Florida) The degree of brain damage depends on the amount and duration of the shaking and the force involved in impact of the head.

The brain is the most important organ in the body. It controls the thoughts and actions of humans. The brain is located within the skull, creating the idea that it is safe from any for of injury. This unfortunately is not the case. Concussions are defined by the United States Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as “A mild form of traumatic brain injury (TBI) caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head.” In 2010 alone almost 2.5 million emergency room visits were for concussions or other forms of traumatic brain injury associated with it, forty percent of these injuries were sustained from falling accidents; while others were caused by motor vehicle accidents, being struck by an obstacle and assault.

Seizures may arise at any stage of age, but certain periods of life present a higher risk for their emergence. The frequency of seizures in the epileptic population varies widely. Some epileptic experiences only two seizures in a lifetime, and other may suffer 100 of attacks daily. Approximately 25 percent of epileptic experience seizures that are uncontrolled by current forms of

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.

Partial seizures occur when the electrical activity remains in a limited area of the brain. They account for 40% of childhood seizures, consciousness may be intact or slightly impaired. Partial seizures can be categorized as either simple when they are not affecting awareness or memory, or complex when they are affecting awareness or memory of the events before, during, and immediately after the seizure, as well as behavior. Classic symptoms of a simple partial seizure include jerking, muscle rigidity, spasms, head-turning, unusual sensations affecting either vision, hearing, smell, taste or touch, memory or emotional disturbances. Symptoms of a complex partial seizure include lip smacking, hewing, fidgeting, repetitive, involuntary but

Farrow (2004) explains that “A traumatic brain injury is caused by a blow to the head, face, or neck area…” (p.53). It is an injury to the brain that causes an immediate change in brain function, which includes a loss of consciousness (Levy, 1993). You do not have to be knocked unconscious in order to sustain a traumatic brain injury (The Franklin Institute, 2004). The term traumatic brain injury (TBI) refers to injuries to the brain that are caused by some form of traumatic impact. A blow to the head, violent shaking or penetration of the brain tissue usually causes traumatic brain injuries. This is due to sudden, non-congenital physical damage to the brain from an external force that temporarily or permanently disrupts normal brain function. Brain characteristics and functions that can be affected include consciousness, speech and language, memory, mobility, personality and others. Depending on the cause and severity of the brain injury, brain damage can be mild, moderate or severe. In more serious cases , complications can be fatal. While the severity of traumatic brain injuries varies, the long-term affects are often devastating and life altering. Because the brain controls all bodily functions, any damage to the brain, regardless of severity, can impair physical and psychological activity (Rehberg,

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is alterations of the brain function and brain pathology caused by an external force (LeBorgne, 2013). The two types of TBI are open and closed injuries (LeBorgne, 2013). Open injuries results from a penetration of the skull (LeBorgne, 2013). Closed injuries or no penetrating causes damage at the point of impact (LeBorgne, 2013). Closed head injuries include, but are not limited to concussion, contusion, and second impact syndrome (LeBorgne, 2013). A closed head injury involves edema, and an increase in intracranial pressure that causes further injury (LeBorgne, 2013). Between 2002 and 2006 falls were the leading cause of TBI among all age groups in the United States, followed by motor vehicular accidents, strike against an object and assaults (Powell, 2014). Falls related to the greatest amount of emergency department visits and hospitalization, compared to motor vehicular accidents that were the leading cause of death (Powell, 2014).

Results indicated that the primary cause of traumatic brain injuries in adolescents between the ages of 14 to 19 were motor vehicle accidents. Unfortunately, approximately 40% of adolescents diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury admitted into a hospital will decease. Alternatively, the leading cause of traumatic brain injuries in ages 10-13 was falls. Approximately 71% of inpatient care for traumatic brain injuries were for males younger than 17 years of age. A consideration for all age groups is that although a cranial injury due to firearms occurred the least out of all categories, this injury caused the highest rate of

Epilepsy has many disadvantages, although there is no age limit when someone has Epilepsy. Epilepsy doesn’t have a huge effect on people’s

A seizure is caused by a sudden burst of abnormal electrical and chemical activity in the brain. This activity temporarily interrupts normal brain function.

Each of the types also present different clinically. There are two main types of epilepsy. The first type is generalized epilepsy and is not tied to a specific area of the brain, and the second is focal or partial epilepsy which begins in a certain lobe and highly developed areas. Generalized epilepsy is then further broken down into idiopathic and symptomatic. During idiopathic seizures the cause of the episode is unknown, and the brain is behaving normally between seizures. Whereas, during symptomatic seizures there is a known cause of the seizure which is due to a structural brain abnormality (“Pediatric Epilepsy & Seizures”,

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.