Partial Seizure: A Case Study

Seizures or epilepsy are brain disorders where the person has repeated convulsions over a period of time. They’re episodes of disturbed brain activity that cause changes in attention and behavior. Seizures are considered the most common observed neurological dysfunction in children. They are very sudden intermittent episodes of altered consciousness lasting seconds to minutes and include involuntary tonic (stiffening of muscles) and clonic (altering contraction and relaxation of muscles) movements.

Partial seizures are also sometimes called local or focal seizures. They take place in one hemisphere of the brain. There are two subcategories of partial seizures including simple partial and complex partial.

Epilepsy is a condition in which the affected person has seizures or periods of loss of consciousness. It is the second most common neurological condition in the UK.

There are different kinds of seizures, each having different effects. There is the generalized seizures which is a kind of seizure that affects the entire brain.There is the partial seizures which affects part of the brain. There is non-epileptic seizures, which is not really related to seizures, but it is caused by things,

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

Traumas to the brain are a major risk factor for the development of epilepsy and within the following years after such an injury they are considered high risk for epilepsy. In a study done on the risk of epilepsy after head trauma the following statistics were discovered regarding the rate of development:

Epilepsy is a relatively common neurological condition which disrupts the electrical activity of the brain and causes sudden, recurrent seizures. Partial seizures are the most common, and occur on only one side of the brain rather than travelling across the corpus callosum into the other hemisphere. These partial seizures generally originate in the temporal lobe, an important area for memory, language, and auditory/sensory processing. In a group of epilepsy conditions known as reflex epilepsies, seizures can be triggered by several different stimuli. Musicogenic epilepsy is a rare type of reflexive epilepsy in which patients experience seizures after listening, thinking, or dreaming about music. In a 2008 study some patients reported 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.

The obvious signs of meningitis include sudden fever, severe headaches, sensitivity to bright light, nausea, vomiting, double vision, trouble with balance, and a stiff neck. Encephalitis can be characterized by seizures, fever, change in behavior, and related neurological signs. Meningitis and Encephalitis can occur in all ages. When dealing with an infant, important signs to watch for include fever, lethargy, vomiting, body stiffness, unusual irritability, and a full or bulging fontanel.

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

Meningitis is an inflammation of the meninges, membranes that surround the brain. This can extend as far as infecting the cerebral spinal fluid on top of causing the tissue to swell. Meningitis comes in two major forms; bacterially and virally. However, having bacterial meningitis is much more severe than viral meningitis. There is a lot more danger in having a bacterial infection within the brain than a viral infection within the brain. What makes bacterial meningitis so lethal is that “even when the disease is diagnosed early and adequate treatment is started, 5% to 10% of patients die, typically within 24 to 48 hours after the onset of symptoms. Left untreated, up to 50% of cases may die, (6) or there

Post stroke seizures were reported as early as 1864 by Hughlings Jackson about seizures in patient with stroke on paralysed side,(1) Strokes is the most common cause of epilepsy in patients over the age of 60 years

This condition is treated with antibiotic medicine. Treatment must be started immediately, even if the exact bacteria that caused the condition has not yet been identified. Treatment may also involve taking steroid medicine to limit swelling of the brain.

Seizures are groups of neurons that discharge which lead to excessive excitation or loss of inhibition of those neurons. The cause of seizures is thought of as malfunction of ion channels. The repeated electrical activity from seizures damages brain cells. Epilepsy is defined as “a condition characterized by two or more recurrent epileptic seizures over a period longer than 24 hours, unprovoked by an immediate identified cause” (Bharucha et al, 1997). Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is a repeated occurrence of epileptic seizures occurring in the temporal lobe. TLE is the most common type of epilepsy seen in 60% of patients (Wass et al, 1996). TLE is seen in two types; one including the medial structures of the temporal and the second including

Meningitis is a severe condition in which the membranes which cover the brain and spinal cord become inflamed. Aseptic meningitis mostly occurs in infants and young children. Patient might feel ill but the feeling is milder than bacterial meningitis. In rare cases this disease leads to serious complications. 50% of all aseptic meningitis is caused by seasonal viruses, usually transmitted by cough, saliva or waste matter. Some of the viruses that cause meningitis are; chicken pox, HIV, mumps, herpes simplex, west Nile, rabies. Doctors may not be able to identify the specific virus which is responsible for the outbreak of this disease. Some other conditions such as Fungal Infection, Syphilis, Lyme disease,