Seizures occur in the body due to a deviation from normal electrical signaling. There are two different classes of seizures. Generalized “Grand Mal” seizures differ from partial seizures in that they, “constitute 30% of seizures, involve neurons bilaterally, often do not have a local (focal) onset, and usually originate from a subcortical or deeper brain focus” (McCance and Huether, 551). These types of seizures have a wide variety of onsets and affect both brain hemispheres, as opposed to the more fine-tuned, partial (focal) seizures. Partial seizures involve neurons unilaterally, begin in a particular region of the brain (one hemisphere), have a local onset, and can spread throughout the brain. In contrast to generalized seizures, in …show more content…
In a 5-year study, it was found that, “the dominant cause of seizures was a previous stroke, accounting for 32% of all cases. Tumors accounted for 14%, and the cause of seizures remained unknown in 25%” (Luhdorf, Jensen & Plesner). According to Medscape, “the risk factor of recurrent seizures in children younger than 16 is almost double that of adolescents and adults aged 16-60 years.” A family history of epilepsy (recurrent seizure disorder), partial seizures, a history of neurologic deficit from birth such as cerebral palsy, mental retardation, or brain tumors are other high risk factors for recurrent seizures (Medscape). Symptoms of a seizure can range from a slight staring spell to sudden falling and convulsions (rapid, uncontrollable muscle spasms or jerking) and loss of bowel and bladder control. Causes and complications are brain injury or infection- such as meningitis, electric shock, fever, amnesia and stroke. When there is no apparent cause of the seizure this is called an idiopathic seizure (Seizures). Most patients with single seizure episodes will recover fine on their own with no treatment, however, for those with recurrent seizures, anticonvulsant therapy maybe an appropriate course …show more content…
This condition is most commonly caused by a viral infection (less threatening), although bacteria and fungal infections as well as toxins or parasites can also lead to meningitis (McCance & Huether, 609). The type of treatment depends on the causative agent; meningitis may go away on its own or require treatment with antibiotics. Clinical manifestations of meningitis, according to the textbook are as follows: inflammation and irritation- generalized meningeal signs, throbbing headache, photophobia (light sensitivity); local tissue dysfunction- cranial nerve palsies, focal neurologic deficits (hemiparesis/hemiplegia, ataxia), and seizures; mass effect- decreased level of consciousness, nausea, vomiting, and increased intracranial pressure; and lastly, vascular compromise (McCance and Huether, 612). Systematic effects of this condition are increased intracranial pressure (ICP), disruption of the blood brain barrier (a defense mechanism) which can exacerbate infection, interference or blockage of CSF (cerebral spinal fluid), cerebral edema, intracranial hypertension and decreased cranial blood flow. If the condition gets too serious, paralysis, hearing loss, ataxia (loss of muscle coordination, mainly in the extremities), cerebral atrophy, and hydrocephalus (“water
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 brain disorder in which individuals have recurrent seizures. Seizures can occur in children and adults of any age. There are around 50 million people in the world who has the disorder. Individuals in developing countries are at a higher risk for developing the disorder. Seizures occur due to hyper-excitability and hyper-synchronization of neurons. Action potential transmits messages and it leads to depolarization. When neurons are uncontrollably depolarizes because of hyper-excitability due to too little inhibition, it cause a seizure. Seizures can last from a few seconds to a few minutes. As spontaneously they can develop is also as fast and spontaneous they can end.
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,
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.
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
A sudden attack of neurons is a complex neurological disorder, deemed the term seizure. A seizure is the physical findings or changes in behavior that occur after an episode of abnormal electrical brain activity.1 Epilepsy or seizure disorders affect about 1.8 percent of adults 18 years or older.2 Men present with their first seizure more often; 58%. Symptoms associated with seizures vary according to the brain region affected, and do not always indicate a seizure. Some symptoms involved are drooling, brief blackout, shaking of the entire body, and sudden falls.1 According to John Hopkins Medicine, there are generalized, absence, myoclonic, tonic-clonic, atonic, and partial seizures.3 Most times individuals with seizure activities
Generalized seizure is a type of seizure that starts in one area of the brain and spreads to other hemispheres. Drug that can be use is Carbamazepine. Tonic-clonic seizure is a type of seizure that exhibit repeated jerking motion and fainting. Drug that can be use is ethotoin (Peganone). Absence seizure is s type of seizure that consists of spontaneous loss of consciousness, and individual exhibit blinking or staring for a few seconds. Drug that can be use is valproic acid. Partial seizure is a type of seizure that consists of one area of the brain with no additional effects of other part of the brain. Drug that can be use is phenytoin (Dilantin). Status epilepticus is s type of seizure that reoccurs often and rapidly. Drug that can be use is diazepam (Karch, 2013, pg. 379).
This paper is on epilepsy and seizures. The human brain is the source of all human epilepsy. (Steven C. Schachter, Patricia O. Shafer, Joseph I. Sirven, 2013) What is epilepsy? Epilepsy is sometimes referred to a seizure disorder, though not all seizures are related to epilepsy. According to the website Stony Brook Medicine, the reason a seizure occurs is because of an unexpected surge of electrical activity in the brain. (Stony Brook Medicine, 2014) Due to the overloading of electrical activity, it causes short-lived disturbance in the messaging system between the brain cells. The word epilepsy approaches from a Greek word 'epi' signifying 'upon or above' and the Greek word
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
Since Epilepsy is a seizure disorder, most of the symptoms are actually symptoms due to seizures. Symptoms also vary depending on what type of seizure the person is having; however most seizures are classified as generalized or partial. Both generalized and partial seizures have their own separate types of seizures within the classification. The generalized seizure affects the whole brain at once. Two examples of a generalized
However, medication therapy has been proven to be successful for almost three quarters of patients with generalized seizures. Unfortunately only fifty percent of epileptics with partial seizures are able to control seizure activity with medication. In the developing world nearly eighty percent of cases are inappropriately or not treated at all (centre, 2015). Depending on the age of the patient, the patient is nearly two to four times more at risk for early death during a seizure episode. The primary treatment for epilepsy is phenobarbital which is the least expensive anticonvulsant used to control generalized and partial seizures. Unfortunately due to its abuse potential it is often a controlled substance in countries and therefore not recommended as a first line of treatment. The lack of the ability to treat the majority of cases has led to severe social stigmas of epileptics and in many cases denial of the privileges such as being able to marry or drive a vehicle. Even with proper treatment nearly three out of ten epileptics continue to have seizures despite anticonvulsant therapy. A further estimated twenty percent can control their seizure activity if a second or third anticonvulsant is added to their regimen. Other than anticonvulsant medications minimizing or eliminating seizure triggers is the priority of therapy. Understanding the patients sensitivities are useful in indicating when a seizure will occur. Avoiding
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, 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.
Rolandic epilepsy is the common cause of benign childhood focal epilepsy. The age at onset ranges from 2 to 14 years with 75% starting between 7–10 years. There is a 1:5 male predominance, prevalence is around 15% in children aged 1–15 years with non-febrile seizures and incidence is 11–20/100,000 children aged 0–15 years. The hallmarks