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36 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Convulsions |
muscles contract and relax in a rapid cycle |
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Seizure |
paroxysmal events that may be muscular or related to consciousness |
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Epilepsy |
recurrent, (unprovoked) seizures |
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paroxysmal |
happens in attacks |
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epilepsy more describes which 4 symptoms? |
- muscle rigidity - psychic symptoms (hallucination like alteration of consciousness) - convulsions - loss of consciousness |
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who is most likely to get epilepsy? |
children and the elderly. Around 5% of the population experience it |
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lifestyle restrictions for epileptics |
- NO DRIVING - must be free of daytime seizures for 1yr before allowed to and Dr. must inform the DVLA if they have an epileptic who's driving - No heavy machinery operation |
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focus |
a group of neurons generating high frequency activity |
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what happens in the brain in epilepsy? |
A single focus or multiple foci generate high frequency activity. Foci can be widespread and symptoms depend on where they're located |
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4 diagnostic tools for epilepsy |
-EEG - video EEG - CT/MRI (see if there's an underlying tumour) - PET scan (find the region of the brain affected) |
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Myoclonic (myoclonus) |
twitching of muscle or muscle group |
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Clonic (clonus) |
rapidly repeating myoclonus |
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Tonic |
a phase in which there is muscle contraction (initial rigidity) |
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Atonic |
loss of muscle tone (“drop seizure”) |
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Ictal |
pertaining to a seizure (or stroke) |
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generalised seizure |
spread over multiple areas of brain |
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tonic/clonic |
rigidity then rapidly repeating contraction/relaxation |
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postictal |
phase after seizure |
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simple seizures |
don't lose consciousness |
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complex seizures |
patient loses consciousness |
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About absence (petit mal) seizures |
- more common in children - only involve consciousness, not muscles - Sudden, brief (->min) lapses in consciousness with rapid recovery - Can happen frequently during the day - Motor components in some cases |
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3 phases of tonic-clonic seizures |
- Aura (not always) - Tonic phase (muscle rigidity, vocalizations) - Clonic phase (convulsions, (incontinence), lasts several minutes) |
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Aura = |
psychic symptoms – altered sensory perception, hallucinations. |
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what types of epilepsy get auras? |
Focal seizure with maintained consciousness/simple partial seizure |
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after a Grand mal seizure |
often postictal sleep (very tiring). Can feel confused and ill |
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Status epilepticus |
The most serious form of epilepsy with a 20% mortality rate - it involves muscles for breathing, so if the seizures last >5min, O2 supply is compromised and can result in permanent brain damage |
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5 categories of age classified epilepsy |
- neonatal - infancy - childhood - adolescent/adult - not age related |
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aeteology |
how it occurs |
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epilepsy can be caused by |
- genetics (40%) - structural/metabolic |
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structural/metabolic causes of epilepsy |
tuberous sclerosis, brain trauma, alcohol abuse, kidney disease, withdrawal from some medications |
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triggers for epilepsy |
- spontaneous - stress and tiredness - photosensitive (most common) - reading - hot water - music |
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genetic epilepsies are generally |
channelopathies - most affect GABAaR, nAChR and voltage-sensitive receptors |
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A common inherited epilepsy |
juvenile myoclonic epilepsy - frequently have tonic/clonic seizures with sleep deprivation as a trigger |
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4 mutations which can lead to juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME) |
- GABAaR alpha subunit - GABAaR delta subunit - CLCN2 chloride channel - CACNB4 calcium channel beta subunit |
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Autosomal Dominant Nocturnal Frontal Lobe Epilepsy |
- Seizures happen at night during sleep - Frequently misdiagnosed as nightmares - Linked to mutations in neuronal nAChR alpha and beta subunits(receptors change sensitivity to ACh and desensitization altered) |
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Hyperekplexia |
= startle syndrome - mutations in proteins associated with glycinergic transmission in spinal cord(glycine receptor subunits,glycine transporters,cytoskeletal proteins) - Animal homologues existe.g. fainting goats - NOT an epilepsy as no change in EEG |
