Epilespy Migraine And Mulitple Sclerosis Flashcards
(46 cards)
What are paroxysmal disorders also known as?
Episodic disorders
What are paroxysmal disorders?
•Disorders where the nervous systems functions normally between attacks
What do paroxysmal disorders include?c
seizures, headaches, fainting
paroxysmal disorders have strong —– ——?
Generic components
What can paroxysmal disorders be triggered by?
Stress, fatigue and some dietary factors
What is a seizure?
–A paroxysmal hyper-synchronous abnormal activity of neurons (detected using EEG)
–Sudden and transient interruption of brain function due to disruption of electrochemical processes in transmitting information from one nerve cell to another.
What are the common causes of seizures?
- Cryptogenic (~70%)
* Vascular disease of brain (15%)
What are the less common causes of seizures?
- Head trauma
- Infections
- Alcohol
- Medication
- Drug misuse
What are the two classifications of Seizures?
1) Partial or focal seizures
2) Generalised seizures (Grand Mal)
What fraction of seizures are focal seizures?
2/3
What are the two types of focal seizures?
- Simple (conciousness preserved)
* Complex (altered conciousness)
Where do focal seizures start?
•Start in a part of the brain –Temporal lobe –Frontal lobe –Occipital lobe –Parietal lobe
What are the signs of focal seizures starting in the temporal lobe?
•Epigastric aura –Nausea –Rising epigastric sensation •Fear •Déjà vu •Staring, unresponsive •Ictal/post-ictal speech
What are the signs of focal seizures starting in the frontal lobe?
- Sudden, short, rapid recovery
- Sleep related
- Multiple events each night
- Kicking, thrashing
What are the signs of focal seizures starting in the occipital lobe?
- Visual hallucinations
- Visual field defects
- Ictal blindness
- Eye deviation
- Head deviation
What are the sign of focal seizures starting in the parietal lobe?
- Rare
- Somatosensory aura
- Contralateral numbness/tingling
- Vertigo
- Speech disturbance can occur
What do primary generalised seizures do?
•Distorts electrical activity of whole or larger portion of brain
What is tonic-clonic?
–No aura –Tonic phase •Stiffens, cries, breathing, cyanosis, incontinence –Clonic phase •Rhythmic generalised jerking
What is the post-ictal phase?
–Confusion
–Automatic behaviour
What questions do you ask when deciding what type of seizure it is?
–How does it start? –How does it evolve? –Consciousness lost or not? –How long does it last? –How does it stop? –What happens afterwards? –How long does it take to return to normal?
Why would an EEG be carried out?
–To help support diagnosis –Can be normal in epilepsy (60-70%) –Indicated in •Primary generalised epilepsy •Syndrome classification
What type of investigations will be carried out for epilepsy?
EEG and MRI
What conditions mimic epilepsy?
- Sleep disorders
- Hyperventilation
- Hypoglycaemia
- Migraine
- Panic attacks
- Syncope (fainting)
What is the most common type of headache disorder?
Migraine