Epilepsy

From NeuronBankWiki

Jump to: navigation, search

Epilepsy is a neorlogical brain disorder in which there is unsual, or abnormal electrical signaling from one neuron to the next, which often results in seizures. There are two types of Epilepsy, Idiopathic, and Symptomatic (also called cryptogenic), the latter haveing no known origins. The major smptoms of epilepsy are seziures. There are 6 forms of generalized seizures, and 3 forms of partial seizures. The kind of seizures that come about usually depend on what part of the brain's neuronal activity is being disruppted. Treatments are constiantly being sought out, though for now, only the symptoms (seizures) can be treated by trying to control the abnormal neuron activity.


Contents

Types of Epilepsy

1. Idiopathic Epilepsy is usually passed from one generaltion to the next genetically.

  • (A) Idiopathic Generalized Epliepsz is genetically passed, and can be diagnosed at any point in a patients life. This unusal form shows nothing wrong with the brain or nervous system can be detected untial teh seizures show up.
  • (B) Idiopathic Partial Epilepsy can also be called benign focal epilepsy of childhood (BFEC), and is by far considered the most mild form, and is often grown out of. Siezures are most common at night, and are usually minor muscular spasms. This form of Epilepsy is thought to be genetically passed, verses developing from some sort of damage to the brain.

2. Symptomatic Epilepsy is usually a result to some sort of trama or damage to the brain, either by some outside physical happening, or caused by another change in from inside the body.

  • (A) Symptomatic Generalized Epilepsy this form or eprilesey is often is a result of damage to the brain, most commonly during birth. This damage is usually not localized to one section of the brain which can also be the cause for other brain diseases in chilren.
  • (B) Symptomatic Partial Epilepsy,unlike symptomatic generalized epilepsy, the partial form is a localized electrical abnormality that can be "caused by a localized abnormality of the brain, which can result from strokes, tumors, trauma, congenital (present at birth) brain abnormality, scarring or "sclerosis" of brain tissue, cysts or infections." Symptomatic partial epilepsy is found most commonly begining in adults, however, its is not uncommon for children to develope them.



Treatment

Treatment can very from case to case depending on teh type of seizures being expressed, and the caused to which the epilepsy formed. In genetically passed cases, medication can be used to re-balance brain activity. Some forms can be helped by surgery if something like a tumor is the cause of the epilepsy.

Types of Seizures/Symptoms

Generalized Seizures

  1. "Grand Mal" or Generalized tonic-clonic- The most commonly recognized for its dramatic muscle convulsions, and loss of consciousness. During these often violent episodes, there is a danger to the patient from the thrashing of their own body.
  2. Absence- are courious, because the patient, and those around them may not even know they are experiencing one. These extremely brief moments of unconsciousness may just look like the person is staring blankly for a few seconds.
  3. Myoclonic- "consist of sporadic jerks, usually on both sides of the body. Patients sometimes describe the jerks as brief electrical shocks. When violent, these seizures may result in dropping or involuntarily throwing objects."
  4. Clonic- bilateral quick muscle spasms.
  5. Tonic- stiffening of the muscles.
  6. Atonic- sudden relaxation of the muscles

Partial Seizures are seizures that effect a very small, and specific parts of the brain

  1. Simple can come in three forms
  • motor- twitching and spasms of a small group of muscles.
  • sensory- causes unusual changes in the major senses of the patient.
  • psychological- disturbances in a patients memor, or even emotional state
  1. Complex- are like absence seizures where the patient doesn't even know that a seizure is taking place, but is also accompanied by repetitive involuntary repetitive movements, such as smackin gtheir lips, or even fidgeting.
  2. Partial seizure with secondary generalization- "Symptoms that are initially associated with a preservation of consciousness that then evolves into a loss of consciousness and convulsions"


Physiology of a Seizure

When your neurons are working correctly, chemical transmitters pass quickly, from one neuron to the next. when enough neurotransmitted it in the receptor site of the dendrdic soma of the neuron, and action potention sequence is activated, passing the message down the axon to the synaptic end, and fired to the next neuron. There are both neurons that are ment to pass on the message that ment to freeze up, or stop the message from traveling. if there are too many neurons trying to send the messages at once, or trying to recieve messages at once, this is when a seizure occurs.



Organizations

Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy (CURE) 730 North Franklin Street Suite 404 Chicago, IL 60654 info@CUREepilepsy.org http://www.CUREepilepsy.org Tel: 312-255-1801 Fax: 312-255-1809 

Epilepsy Foundation

8301 Professional Place Landover, MD 20785-7223 postmaster@efa.org http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org Tel: 301-459-3700 800-EFA-1000 (332-1000) Fax: 301-577-2684


Epilepsy Institute 257 Park Avenue South New York, NY 10010 website@epilepsyinstitute.org http://www.epilepsyinstitute.org Tel: 212-677-8550 Fax: 212-677-5825 

People Against Childhood Epilepsy (PACE)

7 East 85th Street Suite A3 New York, NY 10028 pacenyemail@aol.com http://www.paceusa.org Tel: 212-665-PACE (7223) Fax: 212-327-3075


Family Caregiver Alliance/ National Center on Caregiving 180 Montgomery Street Suite 1100 San Francisco, CA 94104 info@caregiver.org http://www.caregiver.org Tel: 415-434-3388 800-445-8106 Fax: 415-434-3508 

National Council on Patient Information and Education

4915 St. Elmo Avenue Suite 505 Bethesda, MD 20814-6082 ncpie@ncpie.info http://www.talkaboutrx.org Tel: 301-656-8565 Fax: 301-656-4464


National Family Caregivers Association 10400 Connecticut Avenue Suite 500 Kensington, MD 20895-3944 info@thefamilycaregiver.org http://www.thefamilycaregiver.org Tel: 800-896-3650 Fax: 301-942-2302 

National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD)

P.O. Box 1968 (55 Kenosia Avenue) Danbury, CT 06813-1968 orphan@rarediseases.org http://www.rarediseases.org Tel: 203-744-0100 Voice Mail 800-999-NORD (6673) Fax: 203-798-2291


International RadioSurgery Association 3002 N. Second Street Harrisburg, PA 17110 office1@irsa.org http://www.irsa.org Tel: 717-260-9808 Fax: 717-260-9809 

Charlie Foundation to Help Cure Pediatric Epilepsy

1223 Wilshire Blvd. Suite #815 Santa Monica, CA 90403 ketoman@aol.com http://www.charliefoundation.org Tel: 310-393-2347 Fax: 310-453-4585


Epilepsy Therapy Project P.O. Box 742 Middleburg, VA 20118 epilepsytherapy@epilepsytherapy.org http://www.epilepsy.com Tel: 540-687-8077 Fax: 540-687-8066 

Antiepileptic Drug Pregnancy Registry

MGH East, CNY-149, 10th Floor 149 13th Street Charlestown, MA 02129-2000 info@aedpregnancyregistry.org http://www2.massgeneral.org/aed/ Tel: 888-AED-AED4 (233-2334) Fax: 617-724-8307



References

  1. National INstitute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes. NINDS Epilepsy Information Page <http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/epilepsy/epilepsy.htm>
  2. WebMD. Epilepsy <http://www.webmd.com/epilepsy/guide/epilepsy-treatment-care>
  3. Biochemistry of Epilepsy. <http://library.thinkquest.org/J001619/biochem.html>
Retrieved from "http://www.neuronbank.org/wiki/index.php/Epilepsy"
Personal tools