Temporal Lobe Epileptogenesis

A 57 year old male patient came to the Emergency Room with symptoms of inability to speak, enlargement of pupils, loss of coordination, and loss of memory. The patients’ family has verified that the patient has fallen off of the roof while trying to clean the gutters. The patient is showing signs and symptoms of a traumatic brain injury.

The documentary’s description of neuroplasticity of seizure patients represents the unknowing and negligent work ethic of modern day scientists and researchers alike. This is confirmed by the lack of treatment of these afflicted individuals who suffer a never ending siege daily with themselves, almost always certain that their pain will end but it is always to no avail.

Epilepsy is a brain disorder classified as a neurological disorder that affects the brain’s electrical and immoderate activity which causes a person to have a seizure. This brain disorder goes back thousands of years to Ancient Greece where these individuals believed that people had seizures, they were being visited by an evil spirit or demon. The word Epilepsy also derives from the ancient Greek word attack. Ancient Greeks also thought that this neurological disorder, Epilepsy, was infectious and for this same matter most of the people that suffered from this disorder lived alone. Now in present day, researchers and scientist know that this is not true and they now know the real factors and things that cause these seizures to occur.

The nervous system functions by using a combination of chemical and electrical processes to control voluntary (somatic) and involuntary (autonomic) movement. This is achieved through the transmission of signals via specialised cells called neurones and nerves, as shown in Figure 1 (livescience, 2016). In the brain, ion channels exist that allow a steady current to pass through by firing regularly. In the event of a seizure, ion channels that have been genetically damaged

Epilepsy is a complicated neurological disorder that affects the central nervous system, specifically the brain. It can be caused by the over-excitation of neurons, which occurs when the electrical activity is irregular or when two or more unprovoked seizures arise. The left hemisphere communicates to the right hemisphere by sending signals in order to let it know what’s going on (vice versa). In epilepsy, the signal goes back and forth, resulting in a positive feedback. Positive feedback is a self-amplifying cycle, where a physiological change leads to a greater change in the same direction. As the stimulus goes back and forth, rapidly it gets bigger each time, hence the stimulus process becomes unstable, and an epilepsy can occur. This

Epilepsy refers to a seizure disorder where the central nervous system does not function properly. It is a neurological disorder. It is when nerve cell activity in the brain is disturbed, causing seizures. There is no cure for epilepsy, but there are treatments to help limit the number of seizures. Most people that have epilepsy live normal lives with some or no restrictions. Most people outgrow their seizures once they get to adulthood. Seventy percent of people with epilepsy are diagnosed before the age of twenty and thirty percent develop a seizure disorder after the age of twenty. Understanding epilepsy’s origin, symptoms, diagnosis process, treatment options, and effects on daily life will eventually lead to a cure.

Although there is no cure for epilepsy, there are many different drug treatments can be effective in prevention seizures, including benzodiazepines or barbiturates. However, breakthrough seizures are still possible.1 Due to the unpredictable nature of seizures, epileptic patients often experience a lower quality of life since they cannot drive and cannot work in certain job fields. Furthermore, seizures can also lead to many different types of injuries in epileptic patients, some of which could be fatal, such as choking on the tongue. In the United States alone one in twenty-five people suffer from epilepsy.2

On a fundamental level, seizures can be viewed as resulting from an imbalance between excitatory and inhibitory processes in the brain. Proposed mechanisms for the generation and spread of seizure activity within the brain include abnormalities in the membrane properties of neurons, changes in the ionic micro environment surrounding the neuron, decreased inhibitory neurotransmission which is primarily by gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA), or enhanced excitatory neurotransmission which is primarily mediated by the acidic amino acid,

rubbing, chewing generalized seizures involve all areas of the brain absence: occur in clusters; blank staring and subtle movement e.g. blinking tonic: muscles stiffen atonic or “drop: sudden loss of muscle control clonic: rhythmic jerking of neck, face, arms myoclonic: sudden brief jerking of limbs tonic-clonic: loss of consciousness, whole body stiffening or jerking CORRECT MECHANISM glutamate ionotropic receptors: all permeable to Na and K ions alpha-amino-2,3-dihydro-5-methyl-3-oxo-4-isoxazolepropanoic acid (AMPA kainate N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) has Ca channel blocked by Mg ions in membrane depolarization, Mg is displaced and Ca floods cell glutamate metabotropic receptor

Epilepsy is a neurological infirmity that involves repeated, involuntary seizure activity [1]. The seizures are produced by the sudden burst of hyperactivity in the brain, causing strange sensations, body stiffening, loss of memory or behaviour, jerking of arms and legs etc. More than 2% of the population are affected by epilepsy. The seizure symptoms may differ from one person to another and can be triggered by various factors which include brain injury or brain tumour, alcohol or drug effects, genetic disorders and infections. Quick diagnosis and early treatment is essential to avoid any dangerous and life threatening situations [2].

Sahar Salimi-Mosavi, Human Biology Program, University of Toronto, Dr. Lili-Naz Hazrati, Department of Laboratory of Medicine and Pathology, Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases

Two thirds of patients who suffer from stroke develop TLE. The proposed study will test whether the pathology of PTEN Knockout cells is a primary driver for TLE or merely a secondary change following seizures. Additionally, we will characterize the different natural and extraneous cell changes that occur within a genetic model of an epileptic animal. This will ultimately help delineate mechanisms by which temporal lobe epilepsy develops. This will guide creating treatment and intervention for patients with post-stroke

The term “epilepsy” is derived from Greek word “epilambanein”, which means “to seize upon” or “to attack”. In this modern world, epilepsy is one of the most frequent neurodegenerative diseases. Epilepsy is a condition in which a person has recurrent seizures. Seizure can defined as an abnormal, disorderly discharging of nerve cells of brain; resulting in a temporary disturbance of motor, sensory, or mental function. Epilepsy is the most common neurological condition affecting people of all ages, race, and social class. There are 50 million people with epilepsy in the world, of which up to 75% live in resource - poor countries with less or no access to medical treatment. Overall prevalence rate of epilepsy in India at 5.59 per 1,000 populations,

Once spontaneous seizures have developed, they will continue for the rest of the animal’s lifetime. The model is simple to establish and does not require any specialist equipment, as kindling does, which minimises costs. Induction of SE as the original precipitating injury closely resembles human TLE (similar to the kainate model) and is easier to model in animals than trauma or febrile seizures 27. However, most precipitating injuries in humans occur in the first few years of childhood 33, and as the optimum time for establishing SE with pilocarpine is PN21, the model is not completely homologous with human epilepsy. The pilocarpine model has the potential to be refractory to AEDs, as TLE often presents with pharmacoresistant seizures, however this is yet to be determined. The model is most suited to investigating biomarkers and fundamental mechanisms of epileptogenesis, or testing newly emergent drugs from high-throughput screening

(B, lower panel). Decreased K+ conductance (C, upper panel) also can predispose to PDS. (Adapted with permission from Chang BS, Lowenstein DH. Epilepsy. N Engl J Med 2003;349:1261. Copyright © 2003 Massachusetts Medical Society.) by Henry R. Thomas. Epilepsy Board Review Manual