Character Analysis: Levetiracetam

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)

To determine whether the antiGAD-SHNNC-GAD is active after administration, the motor unit activity of all mice will be recorded by electromyography (EMG) device. EMG will demonstrate a higher rate of involuntary motor unit firing as well as continuous motor unit activity in control GAD65-/- mice due to lack of synaptic vesicular GABA as an inhibitory neurotransmitter. However, drug administered GAD65-/- mice will show normal motor unit activity (predicted result). In addition, to determine in vivo activity of antiGAD-SHNNC-GAD, mice need to be sacrificed and the amount of GABA can be determined by LCMS as described before (Fig. 26). We will also monitor neural activity and seizure development in GAD65-/-, GAD67-/- and GAD65.67−/− mice with electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings (telemetry system, IMT-100E, Star Medical, Tokyo Japan) following by analysis of their GABA-dependent emotional behavior, in

The study by Amato, Minozzi and Davoli (2011) examined five randomized controlled trials to find an efficient and safe medication to treat AWS. The study which had a total of 7333 patients concluded that benzodiazepines were better for controlling seizures when compared to a placebo and antipsychotics (Amato et al., 2011). When comparing benzodiazepines versus anticonvulsants, researchers concluded that the benzodiazepine chlordiazepoxide had better outcomes. No other studies were found which would compare the effectiveness among benzodiazepines for the treatment of AWS.

Rascati KL; Richards KM; Johnsrud MT; Mann TA. (2009). Effects of antiepileptic drug substitutions on epileptic events requiring acute care. pharmacotherapy.

Choosing an appropriate antiepileptic drug is the key to successful medical management of epilepsy in children. The choice of antiepileptic drug depends on several factors, of which the most important is accurate seizure classification. The other factors used to choose an appropriate antiepileptic drug include the side effect profile of the drug, The available age- and patient-appropriate preparations of the drug, Whether therapeutic levels are needed quickly or not (depending on the frequency and severity of the patient’s seizures), and the patient’s comorbidities.

There are many current drugs and therapies for seizure illnesses. One example of these drugs is, carbamazepine (epitol). Epitol, according to webmd.com, works in the sense of

Epilepsy affects about 65 million people around the world. In average, the incidence of epilepsy is about 150,000 people every year in the United Stated (Schachter, Shafer, and Sirven, 2013). It is a neurological disease of the brain marked by recurrent unprovoked seizures. Likewise, the recurrent unprovoked seizures are temporary disturbances of the brain function due to abnormal, excessive electrical activity in the brain (“Fact,” n.d.). Seizures may vary from person to person, thus, they are sub-classified into different types of seizures. They reoccur at unexpected times, so this has led to several different innovations to aid people with seizures to alert and to prevent the risks of seizures. In this paper, the information and importance

Status epilepticus are seizures lasting >20 minutes, or repeated seizures without regaining consciousness [71]. Physicians should be particularly careful with it, since the background may be other than epilepsy. Infection, haemorrhage, trauma, hypoxia, ischemic or haemorrhagic stroke, hypoglycaemia, hyponatremia, drug toxicity and alcohol withdraw should be ruled out. In any of the above, the provoking cause should be treated. If the cause is epilepsy, the treatment of choice is benzodiazepines and the second choice is phenytoin/ fosphenytoin, but with caution as rapid infusion may induce cardiovascular problems. For resistance in those two drugs, the Neurocritical Care Society’s Status Epilepticus Guideline

Similarly as with different neuroleptics, the mechanism of action of haloperidol has not been totally clarified, but has been attributed to the inhibition of the transport mechanism of cerebral monoamines, particularly

The two types are generalized epilepsy and focal epilepsy, which are then divided into subtypes. Generalized epilepsy originates in all parts of the brain and therefore the surgery that helped Shane would not be helpful. Focal epilepsy, on the other hand, originates in one specific region of the brain and can be treated with surgery. Treatment depends on the patient's medical history, age gender, weight, and what type of seizure they are experiencing. Since there are many people who do not respond to medications, many has seeked help in order direction. For example, a girl from Colorado that suffers from Dravet Syndrome has cannabidiol, a non psychoactive component of marijuana, to treat her symptoms and saw favorable results. In addition, British drug company got the approval from U.S FDA to test a new drug called Epidiolex. It turns out that 42% of the 225 patients saw a reduction of seizures. Another option has been the NueroPace’s RNS System, which was approved by FDA in 2013. This device is a neurostimulator implanted under the skull and detect unusual electrical activity. Once unusual electrical activity has been detected, the device helps stop or prevent the seizure. In addition, researchers continue to work hard to come up with new medication and devices that will help treat

On a fundamental level, seizures can be viewed as resulting from an imbalance between excitatory and inhibitory processes in the brain. Proposed mechanisms for the generation and spread of seizure activity within the brain include abnormalities in the membrane properties of neurons, changes in the ionic micro environment surrounding the neuron, decreased inhibitory neurotransmission which is primarily by gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA), or enhanced excitatory neurotransmission which is primarily mediated by the acidic amino acid,

seizure through controlled electric shock, under anesthesia. The process itself is under scrutiny because it is not entirely understood, which is main a reason why it is only considered in the direst of cases. ECT tends to have severe physical health risks and with the introduction of newer and less harmful antidepressant drugs, it is being used far less often (Comer, 2005). This new class of drugs includes three main types; monoamine oxidase (MAOI) inhibitors, tricyclics and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).

INTRODUCTION:- Amitriptyline is the drug that belongs to the tricyclic antidepressants classification. It is the drug which is mainly used for the depression and anxiety. But the drug has shown the benefits in relieving the pain. The drug mainly relieves the pain by the rebalance of the chemicals in the central nervous system which control the nociceptive receptors that induces the pain and also the chemicals that helps in inducing the sleep. Elavil is the name of the drug in the market [19].

A patient experiencing a convulsive seizure may become ‘unconscious; they may experience rigidity, convulsion of limbs, and even incontinence. Afterwards, the patient may feel confused and drowsy’ (Ransford et al., 2014, p. 404). Short appointments should not be detrimental to the patient. However, if a longer appointment is needed and the patient is experiencing anxiety, benzodiazepines should be considered, as they possess “anxiolytic and anticonvulsant effects” (Ransford et al., 2014, p. 404). We should be cautious when using conscious sedation or general anesthesia as there are disadvantages, such as complications with the AED therapy the patient most likely is concurrently

Bufo toxin has been shown to mimic or exhibit similar action as other known convulsant agent. Its biochemical components are formed as a result of the binding of bufo-fagin and a molecule arginina. There exist wide array of convulsant agents used in the screening of anti-convulsant agents. This new testing convulsant agent (bufo toxin) is inexpensive, affordable and easy to use when compared to other known convulsant agents. The experimental procedure is easy and it gives a broad spectrum in comparing the action of bufo toxin to other chemical convulsant agents (Arome and Amarachi,