People With Epilepsy

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)

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.

Mental disorders can be diagnosed in infancy, childhood, or adolescence. Major depression is a lost of interest or pleasure in all activities. People with major depression experience symptoms such as a change of appetite, restlessness sleep, decreased energy, feeling of worthlessness, difficulty concentrating, and/or suicidal thoughts. A major depressive episode can lasts for about 2 weeks or more. A major depressive episode can be caused by stress, social anxiety, or other reasons. People with a milder depression are able to function and seem normal (DSM-IV-TR). A major depressive disorder affects about 14.8 million adults in America with 6.7 million at age 18 and older in the United States population. A depressive disorder can develop in any age and more likely to occur more often in women than in men and any person who is going through a hard time can develop depression. A treatment for individuals with depression is medication, psychotherapy, or attending social groups, 80 percent of the people who follow up with these treatments begin to show improvement with in four to six weeks. About 50 percent of the patients that take medicine to “cure” the depression are unsuccessful with the treatment, because they stop taking their meds due to the side effects, but the people who are in the support

“Recent data estimate the overall prevalence of depression at about 11.1% of the American population, or nearly 35 million individuals (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). A predictive models suggest that up to 50% of the population will experience at least one episode of depression during their lives” (Life Extension, 2014). Depression has negatively affected the lives of many individuals throughout the world. Look around you there may even be someone close to you that is demonstrating signs of its stifling affects. Depression does not discriminate with its suffocating

One of the most common and detrimental psychiatric condition is depression. The state of depression has substantial e

Anticonvulsants main domains consist of treating seizures and bipolar disorder. Many researchers believe that anticonvulsants increase concentration of the neurotransmitter GABBA. Valproate, Carbamazepine, Lamotrigine, and Gabapentin are the main anticonvulsants used to treat the disorder.

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.

The Swedish Prescribed Drug Register was a major data source because it aided researchers to evaluate the impact that the drug may have with ECT. The pharmacological treatments such as: quetiapine, valproate, antidepressants, benzodiazepines, anxiolytics, hydroxyzine and central stimulants were reviewed during this experiment to keep track of any effects the drugs may cause. During this research these medications were chosen because of its significance in slowing down the progressive symptoms of bipolar depression.

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

Nonadherence rates are 27% higher for patients with depression. (Martin, et al.). “The prevalence of depressive disorders in chronic medical illness is 1.5 to 4 times higher than the general population (DiMatteo, 2012). Depression is one of the strongest predictors of patient nonadherence (DiMatteo 2000, Martin). Depressed patients experience feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness, loss of energy, loss of interest and enjoyment, weight changes, sleep disorders,

Different seizure medicines tend to yield different types of side effects. Just because a certain effect is common with one medication, however, does not mean that the individual will experience it. Many people have few or no problems with side effect. Some side effects are associated with specific medications and occur fairly frequently. Examples of some idiosyncratic effects are listed here. Of note, these will vary from one drug to another. Common dose dependent side effects are usually related to symptoms of the central nervous system and occur with higher dose amounts. Dilantin is often initial drug of choice. Prescribers have to be careful in switching from generic to trade name as bioavailability may vary and can lead to toxicity).

Major Depressive disorder or MDD ,also known as depression is a common ,debilitating disorder affecting almost 16 million adults in the US every year(as found in the reference ranging in severity from mild to severe.It is a leading cause of global disease burden and it is projected that it will be only second to HIV/AIDS syndrome by 2030.It is characterized by symptoms such as fatigue, lack of motivation, decreased concentration and lassitude, which complicate the depressive state by impairing social and occupational functioning. Some of these defining symptoms are thought to occur due to reduced noradrenergic activity which exacerbates the depressed mood state. Feelings of sadness and other symptoms interfere with a person’s ability to work, sleep, study, eat, and enjoy once-pleasurable activities.

Epilepsy can be very problematic to the person and family. This study focuses on the caregiver and the quality of life for the caregiver. The study takes a look at 100 caregivers of different ages that range from adolescent to adults affected by epilepsy. The researchers chose 100 caregivers of temporal epilepsy patients and juvenile myoclonic epilepsy. The worse of the two types of epilepsy is temporal lobe epilepsy due to the high percentage of being medically intractable. This can lead to higher levels of depression and anxiety followed by a poorer quality of life.

Depression is the most common of all psychological disorders, affecting 100 million people worldwide. The depression ranges from mild feelings of uneasiness, sadness, and apathy to intense suicidal despair. (Kasschau) If left untreated, it could lead the