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. Those seizures affect the whole body and brain of the patient, and are much more serious than partial or focal seizure, which only affects one muscle or one part of the body,
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Epilepsy is the disorder with many possible causes. Anything from a mild illness to brain damage can cause and individual to have a seizure. Research suggests that genetic abnormalities may be some of the contributing factors to epilepsy. Some types of epilepsy have been traced to a defect in a specific gene. Many other types of epilepsy tend to run in families, which suggests that genes influence epilepsy. Any type of brain disease can cause epilepsy; it also can develop as a result of brain damage from other disorders. For example, brain tumors, alcoholism, and Alzheimer's disease often cause epilepsy because they change the way brain usually works. Strokes, heart attacks, and other conditions that deprive the brain of oxygen also can sometimes cause epilepsy. Other more rare causes of epilepsy are prenatal injuries that come about from poor nutrition or maternal infections; poisoning by lead or carbon monoxide; or overdose of prescription antidepressants or street drugs.
There are still many patients for whom the cause of their epilepsy cannot be identified (idiopathic epilepsy). In such cases, the theory most commonly accepted is that this epilepsy is the result of an imbalance of certain chemicals in the brain causing them to have convulsions and those seizures can be
Any type of injury related to your brain could cause you to have an epilectic seizure. These could include lack of oxygen during delivery of a baby, injury to the head at any age, injury to the brain caused by stroke.
People uneducated about Epilepsy may have confused thoughts on what it really is. People have these "notions," which are partly or entirely not true. So, throughout this research paper, these notions will be proven untrue, mostly by factual information given by
Epilepsy/seizure – caused by an abnormal electrical condition in the brain producing: absences, convulsions, unusual movements, temporary loss of consciousness.
Epilepsy is due to an upset in brain chemistry, which means that the messages that travel between nerve cells or neurons become scrambled. Because of this, the activity of neurons is disturbed and results in a seizure or loss of consciousness. Many types of seizure can occur and epilepsy can affect anyone at any age.
They also found that those with a family history of epilepsy had a greater risk than those who did not. Those who did not have a family history only had a raised risk of two-fold after a mild injury, while those with a family history had an incredible six-fold. These findings further support the idea that seizure disorders can be caused by multiple factors and the presence of two or more of these factors drastically increases the risk of its development (Shorvon, Nelligan
There are a lot of misconceptions about epilepsy for those who are not familiar with the neurological disorder. Some of the most common questions we receive at Aura America have to do with these misconceptions. We have also noticed most of these questions seem to derive from what's being displayed on television, in particular, medical dramas. No worries. We're here to clear some of the confusion. Today, we’re busting the top six myths concerning epilepsy.
Regular seizures are tied to a brain injury or genetics, but for seventy percent of epilepsy patients, the cause is mostly unknown. The Epilepsy Therapy Project says that 10 percent of people will have seizures in their lifetime. Epilepsy affects more than 300,000 children under the age of fifth teen — and more than 90,000 young people in this group have seizures that cannot be adequately treated(AANS). The rates start to increase when people age, mainly as they develop strokes, brain tumors and Alzheimer's disease, Which may all cause epilepsy. Reports say that more than 570,000 adults over the age of sixty suffer from the disorder(AANS). Men are more likely than women to have epilepsy. Children and adolescents are more likely to have epilepsy that’s unknown why. Brain injury or infection can cause epilepsy at any age. The Epilepsy Foundation also reports that 70 percent of children and adults with newly diagnosed epilepsy can be expected to enter remission after having gone five years or more without a seizure while on medication(AANS). Also Seventy Five percent of people who do not have seizures on medication can come off of medication eventually. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, 20 percent of epilepsy patients have intractable seizures — seizures that do not respond to treatment(AANS). The reasons why epilepsy actually begins in the first place varies from person to person. But what’s known is that the cause is not known for about half of everyone with epilepsy of any age. Children may also be born with problems in the structure of their brain, or may even suffer a head injury or infection that would cause their epilepsy. Severe injury to the head is the most common cause in young adults. Middle-age individuals on the other hand are from: strokes, tumors and injuries are more frequent
There have been many silent killers that have concerned mankind since the dawn of time. It is underestimated and underdiagnosed but it is the most frequently prevalent neurological disorders. Epilepsy and all its forms is as much of a concern today as it was thousands of years ago. Our oldest description that defines the symptoms of epileptic seizures was written two thousand years ago BC (Magiorkinis E1, 2010). Epileptic seizures are the result of excessive and abnormal nerve cell activity in the brain. This puts them at an increased risk of death due to the brains abnormal control of secondary organ systems. The risk increases as people age. Worldwide the overall percentage of epileptic diagnosis encompasses nearly three percent of the population
Epilepsy can be cause for several of reasons, but the most common ones are caused because of brain chemistry, prenatal injuries, hereditary causes, or environmental
Pediatric epilepsy, which affects approximately 1% of U.S. children1, is one of the main contributors to avoidable hospitalizations and emergency department visits.2 Poor seizure control and repeat admissions not only increase demand on health care providers, but they negatively affect long-term seizure control3 and place a significant financial4 and emotional5 burden on patients and families. Inadequate education may be responsible for many of these unnecessary admissions. In fact, one study showed that only 29% of caregivers of children with epilepsy knew the names and doses of their child’s medications.6 By improving patient education, we may be able to improve self-management and reduce health-care utilization. In other diseases, educational
When you look at me, I look like your normal average person. People have assumed I am smart, and I never knew why. But, it hasn't always been that way. I have fought strong and hard to be where I am today. I have epilepsy, but I don't let it define who I am. Most people don't know a lot about this disorder and that is where labeling comes into play.
So far, no cause has been found for absence seizures. However it may run in families. Seizures are caused due to abnormal activity of the brain cells. Any abnormality in the production, discharge or conduction of nerve impulses in the brain causes seizures. However the cause for abnormal production of electrical signals in the brain of a child suffering from absence epilepsy is unknown.
“Where’s my shoe?” I asked worried as I was looking down at my feet, being driven to the hospital in an ambulance. Then a paramedic told me, “Don’t worry about your shoe” in a comforting voice, for some reason I was more worried about where my shoe had gone than why I was in an ambulance. I can’t remember what happened afterwards but waking up in a hospital room, with my parents in the room. Then a nurse walked in and told us that I have gotten a seizure, I was about 13 when I had my first seizure. After all that I went home, and it was very late. Later I was diagnosed with Epilepsy. Afterwards I had gotten another two seizures, one was because I wasn’t on medication yet. The other was caused because I missed a whole day of taking my medication.
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
There is no single test that can diagnosis epilepsy and lots of information need to be gathered to assess the causes of seizures that may be due to epilepsy. If there are two or more seizures that started in the brain, then the patient may be diagnose with epilepsy. Firstly, for the accessing of the causes of seizures, the doctor needs to know the symptoms that the patient have before, during and after the seizures. An epileptic seizure happen very suddenly and the patient has no ideal that a seizure is about to happen. Important information to look out for are what happened, (1) before the seizure–things that trigger the seizure, any mood changes, any unusual sensations, making any sound like crying out or mumbling; (2) during the seizure-did they appear to be “blank’ or stare into space, lose consciousness or become confused, do anything unusual like mumbling, wandering about or fiddling with clothes, any part of their body move, jerk or twitch, bite their tongue or cheek ; (3) after the seizure- did they feel tired, worn out or sleepy, how long was it before they return to normal. Secondly, patient’s medical and personal history and whether they are taking any other medications, drugs or alcohol also plays an important role in the diagnosis. As patient may have other disorders involving other system of the body