...Epilepsy is a disorder in which nerve cell activity in the brain is disturbed, causing the person to have seizures. It can cause strange sensations, emotions, and behaviors. Anything that can disturb the normal pattern of neuron activity can lead to a seizure. Such as, illness,brain damage, abnormal brain development, stroke,brain tumor, and drug and alcohol misuse. The cause of most cases are unknown. Having one seizure due to a elevating fever, called febrile seizures, or a simple head injury does not mean that person has epilepsy. Usually two or more will determine if that person has epilepsy, but not in all cases. A confirmation of epilepsy is done by a test that measures the electrical activity in the brain and brain scans called electroencephalogram or EEG. There are six main types of generalized seizures: tonic-clonic,tonic,clonic,myoclonic,absense, and atonic. They all will involve loss of consciousness and typically will happen without warning. Tonic-clonic seizures present with a contraction of the limbs lasting about 10-30 seconds called a tonic phase. Followed by a shaking of the limbs in unison. This is called the clonic phase. A person will often turn blue as breathing has stopped. Once the clonic phase has stopped it usually takes about 3-15 minutes for the person to return to normal but can last for hours. This period is called the postictal state or phase. Common symptoms of this phase may include feeling tired, headache, difficulty speaking,and abnormal behavior...
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...Epilepsy Temporal lobe epilepsy; Seizure disorder Last reviewed: March 28, 2011. Epilepsy is a brain disorder in which a person has repeated seizures (convulsions) over time. Seizures are episodes of disturbed brain activity that cause changes in attention or behavior. See also: Seizures Causes, incidence, and risk factors Epilepsy occurs when permanent changes in brain tissue cause the brain to be too excitable or jumpy. The brain sends out abnormal signals. This results in repeated, unpredictable seizures. (A single seizure that does not happen again is not epilepsy.) Epilepsy may be due to a medical condition or injury that affects the brain, or the cause may be unknown (idiopathic). Common causes of epilepsy include: * Stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) * Dementia, such as Alzheimer's disease * Traumatic brain injury * Infections, including brain abscess, meningitis, encephalitis, and AIDS * Brain problems that are present at birth (congenital brain defect) * Brain injury that occurs during or near bith * Metabolism disorders that a child may be born with (such as phenylketonuria) * Brain tumor * Abnormal blood vessels in the brain * Other illness that damage or destroy brain tissue Epilepsy seizures usually begin between ages 5 and 20, but they can happen at any age. There may be a family history of seizures or epilepsy. Symptoms Symptoms vary from person to person. Some people may have simple staring spells, while...
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...Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that affects the nervous system. The main characteristics of epilepsy are seizures. Epilepsy comes in a tremendous amount of variations ranging from the type of seizure to the way the body reacts towards treatment. The treatment for epilepsy also varies. Depending on the diagnosis, a medical expert can give treatment such as a new diet, the prescription of certain vitamins or seizure reducing drug, or even surgery. When someone has had two or more seizures that have not been from a previous medical, they are usually diagnosed with epilepsy. A seizure is a disturbance in the electrical activity of the brain (Shafer). The significant change of either too little or too much electrical activity is what causes...
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...Epilepsy is a growing neurological disease that many people do not know a lot about. It was once thought of as being controlled by demons, the devil or witches, and even caused mass amounts of discrimination through the years. After the accusations, a few different scientists are known for big discoveries such as a diagnostic tool that is used in most cases of the disease today. Epilepsy has a growing list of seizures, all which have their own unique symptoms, names and precautions for those surrounding the seizure patient. There are not many preventions and very few treatment options, which allows this disease to continue to be mysterious and unknown by many. Epilepsy is a very serious disease that everyone should know about, including the...
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...Epilepsy involves seizure activity caused by a group of CNS neurons displaying hyper-excitability. During these seizures, there is a disturbance of the electrical conduction system of the brain interfering with consciousness, motor skills, and sensation. In a healthy nervous system a movement of sodium and calcium through specific channels generates action potentials. Neurotransmitters are released either causing excitation or inhibition. Epilepsy involves changes in sodium channels, calcium influx, or sometimes a reduction of GABA. Epilepsy is considered to be the result of the interactions of genetic mutations with environmental factors that cause abnormalities in the brain conduction system, an imbalance of neurotransmitters, or the development...
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...Epilepsy Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that causes abnormal brain activity that causes seizure activity, unusual behavior and sometimes loss of awareness. Epilepsy affects females and males of all ethnic background and race. Children will sometimes outgrow epilepsy and some will live throughout adult hood. Some symptoms of epilepsy are confusion, uncontrollable jerking, and loss of consciousness, many other symptoms depend on the type of seizure that the person is having. The different types of seizures are focal seizures that is when the abnormal activity affects one are of the brain. Seizures that affect all parts of the brain generalized seizures, there is six types of generalized seizures, the absence seizure also called...
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...Epilepsy is a brain disorder and chronic medical condition with sudden abnormal electrical activity that produce seizures which affect a variety of mental and physical functions . It is a word that derived from the Greek "epilepsia" which means "to take hold of". Patients with epilepsy have recurrent seizures, strange sensations and emotions or behave strangely. "The seizures happen when clusters of nerve cells, or neurons, in the brain send out the wrong signals."(1) Epilepsy has existed for thousands of years but only in the past hundred years or so has it begun to be understood. Epileptic seizures were described in ancient cultures, including those of China, Egypt, and India. The seizure was attributed to the god of the moon. "They...
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...Epilepsy symptoms can be worsened by the natural hormone changes that occur in a woman's body as she ages. Epilepsy is a serious disorder of the brain, which causes muscle contractions, jerky movements, and a loss of consciousness. It is caused by the nerve cells in the brain becoming overstimulated. Usually, the seizures are controllable though since there are several effective medications currently available to treat them. However, natural changes in a woman's hormone levels because of perimenopause or menopause can have an impact on the brain's nerve cells, so the medications might not work as well as they are supposed to. Because of this, it is important that all women who have epilepsy read the following information about the way that their hormone levels can affect their health condition. How Hormones Affect Nerve Cells Women have more estrogen in their body than men do. Most people know that this is what causes them to have softer skin, higher voices, and increased fat deposits on their hips, thighs, and chest area. But what some might not realize is...
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...INTRODUCTION The purpose of Case Study: Epilepsy is to provide an understanding of the basic principles involved in the drug treatment of epilepsy, including factors to consider in the initiation and assessment of AED therapy. On 29th January 2014 around 2.15 am, there is a patient admitted in ward 7 (Medical) from A&E Department due to epilepsy. Basically, epilepsy is group of related disorders characterized by a tendency for recurrent seizures. Nurses play an important role in managing patients with Epilepsy. From teaching patients about how to modify their risk factors, administering various medications, and providing pre- and post- care to patients undergoing epileptic action, nurses are in an important position to improve the outcomes of patients experiencing it. PATIENT’S DATA AND HISTORY Patient C is a male and Malay, 21 years of age, with a history of seizures since birth. He is otherwise in good health. His current diagnosis is temporal lobe epilepsy. Patient C experiences focal seizures (“complex partial” and focal seizures that evolve bilaterally). He states the he is aware that a seizure is going to occur because he has a very brief “strange sensation”. This sensation is his aura. After the aura, the patient cannot recall any other events until the postictal period. During the postictal period, patient C is fatigued and confused and often experiences headaches. Witnesses have noticed a typical pattern to patient C’s seizures. First, he becomes very quiet and...
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...Epilepsy in and of itself does not effect the tissues of the body for the long term. The effects on the tissues of the body comes more with some of the disorders that effect the tissues of the body that can also cause epilepsy, the main tissues that are affected by these disorders is brain tissue. One example of a disorder that effects brain tissue is Alzheimer's, this disease actually physically changes the brain in its entirety. The tissues of the brain start to break down due to nerve cell damage causing the size of the brain to shrink dramatically affecting almost all of its function. The deeper into the brain with this condition the more there are signs of tissue damage, the cortex shrivels up, the hippocampus shrinks which is the area of the brain that plays a key role in the formation of memories, and ventricles grow larger....
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...Have you ever wondered what children with epilepsy deal with every single day? Children with epilepsy do not live a normal life. Epilepsy is chronic seizure disorder discovered in the 1880s by Dr. John Jackson. Thousands of children in the United States are affected with epilepsy.They have side effects from medications, social, behavioral, and mental health issues. There are a lot of medical researchers for all types of disorders. I wish there could be more research done for epilepsy because a lot of children are suffering from this disorder and the medication side effects. Epilepsy is long-lived disorder that can cause repeated seizures. Children with epilepsy experience a lot of issues, one of them being depression. Many symptoms of depression are sleep disruptions, listlessness, lack of passion, and constant emotional outburst. Behavioral issues are accompanied by depression. I think that more research needs to be put to these issues to...
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...Epilepsy is a disorder that affects the central nervous system, which is caused when nerve cell activity in the brain is interrupted. This interruption in activity is called a seizure, which is an excessive and abnormal release of neurons. There are about 30 million people all over the world that suffer from Epilepsy, the onset of epilepsy begins at any age (Breedlove & Watson, 2013). To completely understand this disorder, we must learn what happens to the brain when a seizure takes place, and how it effects the rest of the body. The brain When seizures occur, neurons are active at the same time when they are not supposed to be. Active neurons are electrical signals relaying messages from neuron to neuron. Each electrical signal the passes...
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...Description of special need: causes and development areas affected (by Changcan Li) Epilepsy is a disorder regarded as by recurring seizures (also known as “seizure disorder). About 3 million Americans have epilepsy. In about 70% of people with epilepsy, the cause is not known. In the remaining 30%, the most common causes are head trauma, brain tumor, lead poisoning, infection of brain tissue or heredity. (Epilepsy & Seizure 101 by Epilepsy Foundation) Dae Shaun is one of these cases and the cause for his epilepsy is head trauma. It is one of kinds of brain injury caused by trauma. Dae Shaun got a hit very hard on the metal in bed when he was asleep at 2 years old. Mom heard gasping sound at middle of the night. The paramedic was called and he was sent into the hospital by a helicopter immediately since he got hit so hard and lost his breath at that moment. He was in the hospital for a month. At first, the doctor thought it...
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...Health Education- Handling Epilepsy Situations A situation of epilepsy in a school calls for the teacher’s attention. The teacher is supposed to be aware of the children who have the seizure disorder in their classroom. They are supposed to be able find out the type of seizure the child has, and determine whether it requires medical attention. The teacher should also know whether the child has any limitation caused by the disorder or not. He should be well equipped with the emergency response measures required for epilepsy. This should be followed by gaining a better understanding of the disorder by reading articles, books and talking with health officials and families. The child’s presence should also be used as a learning opportunity for other children (Marotz 102). In case of seizure, in a classroom, the teacher is required to attend to the child in order to avoid further worsening of the situation. The teacher should ensure the children are calm and control the situation. His presence is necessary; the child should be put in the same immobile position as they await medical help. The child’s condition should be evaluated by paying attention to breathing, open airway and circulation. The child’s cloth should be loosened around the neck. There should be no sharp objects around the child to prevent any injury. Seizure comes in various intensity and type. They are often caused by rush of abnormal electric impulses in the brain which trigger involuntary or unmanageable movements...
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...Seizures/Epilepsy Epilepsy occurs as a result of abnormal electrical activity in the brain. Brain cells communicate by sending electrical signals in an orderly pattern. In epilepsy, these electrical signals become abnormal, giving rise to an "electrical storm" that produces seizures. These storms may be within a specific part of the brain or may be generalized, depending on the type of epilepsy. Epilepsy is the oldest-known brain disorder; in the early ages people did not understand the causes, people often thought that it was a demon possession. It was not until the late 1880s that the disease was correctly identified. Dr. John Jackson, a famous English neurologist, was the first person to correctly determine the characteristics of epilepsy. (EHow) Epilepsy in America is growing, is it that more people are having seizures, or diagnosis is just getting better? 1 in 26 Americans will develop epilepsy in their lifetime. An estimated 3 million Americans and 65 million people worldwide currently live with epilepsy. Each year at least 200,000 people are diagnosed with epilepsy. In two-thirds of patients diagnosed with epilepsy, the cause is unknown. Doctors still can't find why people have epilepsy, some doctors believe that it is not hereditary but many do. In most cases, about 8 out of 10 people their epilepsy is unknown. This is because epilepsy runs in many families and seems to be passed down generation by generation. Although some doctors believe epilepsy is not hereditary...
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