Seizures/Epilepsy

Question 1

What is a seizure?

Answer 1

Paroxysmal excessive, synchronous, abnormal firing patterns of neurons

Question 2

What features can occur to a patient during a seizure?

Answer 2

Moaning, neck jerking, frothing at the mouth, Tonic phase (Stiffening), Clonic Phase (Synchronous jerking or head and limbs), pale, tongue biting, open and backward eyes

Question 3

Different types of seizures

Answer 3

Focal, Global and unidentified

Question 4

Different classes of epilepsy?

Answer 4

Metabolic/structural, genetic and unknown

Question 5

Age ranges of different types of epilepsy?

Answer 5

Young = Genetic
Old = Structural/Metabolic

Question 6

4 different cellular causes of Epilepsy

Answer 6

Aberrant firing or decreased inhibitory firing, abberrant sprouting, altered synaptic transmissions and alterations in the neuronal environment

Question 7

Epilepsy is?

Answer 7

Neuronal networks that fire in an uncontrolled, hypersynchronous, self sustained manner. Is in an oscillatory manner of firing.

Question 8

Main structures involved?

Answer 8

Medial temporal lobe (Hippocampus) cell lose, gliosis and mossy fibre sprouting in the dentate gyrus, CA1 and CA3.

Question 9

Genetic Predispositions?

Answer 9

Mutations or altered use of ion channels, 50% of which are in the Medial temporal lobe.

Question 10

Other Causes of Epilepsy

Answer 10

Focal Cortical dysplasia, periventricular nodule heteropia (abnormal neuron migration), low grade tumours, vascular lesions (Cavernous and congenital malformations) and focal encephalomalcia

Question 11

Treatment of epilepsy

Answer 11

Hippocampal resection, medications and changes in diet