My Epilepsy Research Paper

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 disorder that anyone can get. Epilepsy happens in the AREGEF2 Gene, this can lead to a condition called Periventricular Heterotopia, in which brain cells, belong in the cortex are along the ventricles. Major causes that can lead to Epilepsy are head injuries or the disorder can get passed down through genetics. The symptoms of Epilepsy are: Whole body: Fainting or Fatigue, Muscular: Rhythmic muscle contractions, or muscle spasms, Sensory: Aura, or pins, and needles, Also common symptoms: Seizures, amnesia, anxiety, depression, headaches, sleepiness, staring spells, or temporary paralysis after a seizure.

Seizures occur when abnormal signals from the brain and changes the way the body functions. Many people have seizures but they have different effects on them. Some people have a little shaking of their hands and do not lose consciousness, while others have a lot of shaking and do lose consciousness. While seizures have a range of life changing effects for adults, more needs to be focus on children.

The Epilepsy Awareness Club was established at Central York High School in the 2013 school year by graduate Faith Hatchard. Faith was passionate about the cause from her own personal experience and was very dedicated to making a change in the community with how epilepsy is perceived. Mrs. Detwiler oversees the activities of the club and works with the president in coordinating club activities.The club is known to host “Purple Outs” at sporting events selling T-Shirts, wristbands and decorating the arenas with posters about epilepsy. The club has about 50 members from all different grades in the school and meets every other Thursday in Mrs. Detwilers room, room 528. Catalina Feistritzer is part of the class of 2018 and is the clubs current president.

There is not much I can remember from my childhood, the memories I do have are probably not the best. Sometimes it is very difficult to even think about certain experiences in my past, but I have decided to share some of my most powerful memories from a portion of my life anyway, even if thinking about it is upsetting. When I was a child, my parents told me a story about an event that happened directly after I came into this world; at the time of my birth, one of the nurses who was meant to be taking care of me accidentally suffocated me for a short period of time, the suffocation caused me to turn blue and go cold, I am fairly certain that this had a sort of damaging effect on the left frontal lobe of my brain, where there is a dark spot that can be seen

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.

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

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.

A seizure is another synonym for the term epilepsy. It is the 4th most common neurological problem in US. More than 3 million on an average are experiencing epileptic seizures at any point. While the other more frequent mental issues are Alzheimer’s and migraine problems. The frequency of seizures, their timings of occurrences is unknown and unpredictable. About in 70% of the cases these can be controlled and cured to a large extent with prescription medication and prevents a number of deaths. Using medication is the first thing that is preferred and suggested by physicians to control seizures before going for surgeries. There are various causes behind the frequent episodes of

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.

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

There has been a monthly epilepsy support group that was started when Rachel Mealey was a NP in epilepsy but now is carried on by Bethany. I [Heather] had the opportunity to attend when I worked in epilepsy and even the chance to facilitate two meetings on my own. The average attendance for the past six months was a steady 4-5 people. It was a positive experience for everyone involved, however the group did not grow.  The day before the last meeting Bethany Frasch, CRNP used MPM to send out an announcement to the epilepsy patients. In just under 12 hours, there were over 30 responses. Many people were thrilled to find out that Penn had an epilepsy support group. So that very next day at the group meeting the attendance jumped to 15. Many people

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 is a critical neurological disease stemming from temporary abnormal discharges of the brain electrical activity, leading to uncontrollable movements and trembling [1]. Epilepsy is the second most common neurological condition seen in primary practice worldwide with an approximate prevalence of 5.8 per 1000 population in the developed world and between 10.3 per 1000 to 15.4 per 1000 in developing countries [2]. Despite its prevalence, epilepsy can be very challenging to diagnose and treat. People with epilepsy are two or three times more likely to die prematurely when compared to a normal person. Therefore, diagnosing and predicting epileptic seizures accurately appear to be particularly important, which is able to bring more effective prevention and treatment for the patients.

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.