EIZURE DISORDER
SEIZURES are episodes of abnormal motor, sensory,
autonomic or psychic activity (or combination of these)
that result from sudden excessive discharge from
cerebral neurons.
Mostly occur in Americans .
For example :
. 6000 people are in stadium ,in which 500 people are
suffer from epilepsy
Rate of epilepsy most occur in age of
0 to 1 or occur in age 70
What is happening with a seizure?
o Abnormal electrical activity in the
brain causing a sudden uncontrolled
event.
o Seizures look different, depending
upon what part of the brain they
affect.
The 4 lobes of the brain
oFrontal lobes- planning and control of
movements
oParietal lobes- deal with sensation
oTemporal lobes- important for
learning, memory and emotions
oOccipital lobes- centers of brain that
allow us to see
causes
Causes divided in to two group
Brain injury
Chemical imbalance in brain
Causes of seizures in children
Brain tumours
Infection
Congenital abnormalities
High fever
Causes of seizures in middle years
Head injuries
Infections
Alcohol
Stimulant drugs
Medication side effects
Causes of seizures in Elderly
Brain tumours
strokes
TYPES OF SEIZURES
1.PARTIAL SEIZURE
2.GENERLIZED SEIZURE
3.STATUS EPILEPTUS
Incidence of seizure types
Partial seizure
A seizure in which benign at focus and
remain localized and not generalized at
rest of body.
About 60% of peoples have partial
seizures.
Occur due to brain injury.
5% chances of genes.
simple partial seizure
oNot produce loss of consciousness
oPeople retain awareness and ability to recall
omotor or autonomic symptoms- movements of
part of the body, nausea or upset stomach
osensory or psychic symptoms (aura)-
numbness, tingling, pain, smell ,etc.
oOnly finger or hand may shake
complex-partial seizures
oConsciousness is reduced or lost
oOccur most commonly in the temporal
and frontal lobes
oWith sensory or motor symptoms
ex)lip smacking, clear throat, fiddle with clothes, laugh, staring
oActions purposeless, look as if
behaving strangely
Partial seizures with impairment
of consciousness
Diagnosis of partial seizures
Partial seizures can be difficult to
diagnose with certainty because they vary
so much from one person to another. It is
helpful for the doctor to hear a detailed
description from the person who is
experiencing the events and from people
who have seen them occur.
Electroencephalogram (EEG)
oBrain's electrical activity pattern is tested
with an electroencephalogram (EEG) to
see if any areas of the brain are
conducting electricity in an abnormal way.
oIf the EEG is abnormal, it can confirm
suspicions that seizures are occurring.
Treatment
Anti-epileptic drugs used for partial
seizures
Anti-epileptic treatment is associated with
a small risk of suicidal thoughts and
behaviour
Generalized seizures
Generalized seizures
Seizure that begin over the entire surface of the
brain are called generalized seizure.
Convulsion start in generalized seizure because
of the involvement of motor system.
Types of generalized seizure:
Grand mal seizure
Petit mal seizure
Atonic mal seizure
Grand mal seizures
A grand mal seizure also known as a
tonic-clonic seizure involve loss of
consciousness and violent muscle
contractions.
Convulsion involve in it
Convulsion : uncontrolled movement of
muscle .
Aura
A sensation perceived by a patient that
precedes a condition affecting the brain.
An aura occurs before a seizure.
It may consist of flashing lights, a gleam
of light, blurred vision, an odor, the feeling
of a breeze, numbness, weakness, or
difficulty in speaking.
Phases of grand-mal seizures
Tonic phase:
•Contraction of muscle start
•Rigidity of arm
•Duration 15 sec
•Person loss consciousness and fall down
•Saliva merge from the mouth
•Tongue biting
•Sweating increase
Clonic phase
Arm and leg jerk rapidly
After 30 sec or few minutes jerking slow down and end
Consciousness return slowly
Eye rolled
Show painful expressions
Than person falls, unresponsive sleep for 15 minutes
Than after awaking then sleep again for hours
Clonic phase
Treatment of tonic and clonic seizures
Treatment of tonic and clonic seizures
There is no one treatment method for any
patient with a seizure disorder.
Each treatment plan is tailored to the individual
patient based on their diagnosis and symptoms.
Treatment options may include medical
therapy, nerve stimulation, dietary therapy,
or surgery, as appropriate. Clinical trials may
also be a valuable treatment alternative.
Guidelines for Seizure Care
Electric recoding
During grand mal seizures neural firing starts at the
focus causing aura than spread.
Firstly near areas than contralateral ----crossing
corpus callosum --- to thalamus ,hypothalamus and
various nuclei.
Excitation increases in subcortical region and
symptoms start.
Neurons in motor system show activity than tonic
phase start.
Than diencephalon structures (the hypothalamus,
thalamus, pineal gland) start activity and send
inhibitory messages to cortex.
.
The inhibitory messages comes into brief
burst that cause jerking movements that
occur in clonic phase. So that muscles
relax and than contract again.
The inhibition become more and than
jerks become slow.
Than finally inhibition cause relaxation.
oAn electroencephalogram (an EEG) is a recording of the
brain's electrical activity.
oAbout 20 small adhesive electrodes are placed on the
scalp, and the brain's activity is recorded under normal
conditions.
oThen the person is exposed to various stimuli, such as
bright or flashing lights, to try to provoke a seizure.
.
oDuring a seizure, electrical
activity in the brain accelerates,
producing a jagged wave
pattern.
oSuch recordings of brain
waves help identify a seizure
disorder. Different types of
seizures have different wave
patterns.
oIt is also known as absence seizures that are type of
generalized seizures.
oPresent in children in which stop there activity and stare
off at the distance, become unresponsive for few seconds.
oIt can occur many times within day.
oDue to miss diagnosis these children are considered as
inattentive and less motivated.
Atonic mal seizure
Atonic seizures are a type of generalized
seizure.
They involve a sudden loss of muscle tone, so
that the child goes limp and falls to the ground.
They are often present in children who also have
other seizure types, such as tonic.
They occur in all age groups, but are more
common in children.
Possible signs and symptoms of an atonic
seizure include:
Sudden loss of muscle tone
The child goes limp and falls straight to the ground
The child remains conscious or has a brief loss of
consciousness
Eyelids drop, head nods
Jerking
The seizure usually lasts less than 15 seconds ,
although some may last several minutes
The child quickly becomes conscious and alert
again after the seizure
Causes
Can be due to any brain injury.
Due to tumor
Drugs and infections
High fever
Alcoholic and people who take
barbiturates ,in these people after
withdraw seizures can occur.(SUDDEN
inhibitory effect stopped create excitation)
A series generalized seizures that occur without full
recovery of consciousness between attacks.
Electrical seizures (on EEG) lasting at least 30 minutes,
even without impairment of consciousness.
Considered a medical emergency.
Status Epileptics produces:
Cumulative effects.
Vigorous muscular contractions impose a heavy
metabolic demand; and
Interfere with respirations.
Withdrawal of antiseizure medication,
Fever
Concurrent infection.
Factors that precipitate Status
Epilepticus:
Medical Management
Stop the seizures as quickly as possible,
Ensure adequate cerebral oxygenation, and
Maintain the patient in a seizure-free state.
An airway and adequate oxygenation are
established.
If the patient remains unconscious and
unresponsive, a cuffed Endotracheal tube is
inserted.
Medications:
Intravenous Diazepam (Valium), Lorazepam
(Ativan), or Forphenytoin (Cerebyx)\