week 10 part 2 Flashcards
What are some epilepsy?
- Age dependent
What are the third level of new classification?
Diagnosis of epilepsy syndrome
What is epilepsy syndrome?
A combination of a specific features:
- Clinical presentation
- Onset age
- Natural course
- Seizure types
- EEG
- Neuroimaging features
What is Epilepsy?
A disease of the brain characterised by:
- 2 unprovoked seizure occurring more than 24 hours apart
- one unprovoked seizure and a probability of further seizure similar to the general recurrence risk (at least 60%) after 2 unprovoked seizures occuring over the next 10 years
What is a seizure?
A transient occurrence of signs and/or symptoms due to abnormal excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain
What are the 2 main groups of seizures?
- Focal
2. Generalised
Focal onset seizure
- Originating within network limited to one hemisphere
- may be discretely localised or more widely distributed
- Originate in subcortical structures
Where can focal seizure spread widely in?
- Brain to engage bilateral network including cortical and subcortical structures
- Result in tonic-clonic seizure - loss of consciousness
What is generalised onset seizure?
- Rapidly engaging bilaterally distributed networks
2. Bilateral network: cortical and subcortical structures - do not necessarily include the entire cortex
What is unknown onset seizures?
- Classified as motor or non-motor
Why may seizure be unclassified?
- Inadequate information to allow it to be placed in focal, generalized or unknown onset categories
What 4 types are epilepsies divided into?
- Focal
- Generalised
- Combined generalised and focal
- Unknown
Why is consciousness important?
- Awareness
- Responsiveness
- Memory
- Self-aware
What was generalized seizures known as? What was its features?
- Grand Mal
- Lose consciousness
- Muscle stiffen
- Exhibiting jerking movement
What are the etiology of the ILAE classification of epilepsy?
- Structural
- Genetic
- Infectious
- Metabolic
- Immune
- Unknown
Structural etiology
- MRI using 1.5Tesla magnet - minimum standard investigation for exclusion of structural abnormality
- EEG + PET, SPECT, MEG - direct attention to a particular brain region - subtle abnormality to be identified
What are common structural brain abnormalities associated with epilepsy
- Malformation of the cortical development
- Vascular malformation
- Hippocampal sclerosis
- Hypoxic-ischemic structural abnormalities
- TBI, tumours, and porencephalic cyst
Metabolic etiology
- Cerebral folate deficiency
- Neurological syndrome - low CSF 5MTHF
- Disturbed folate transport or increased folate turnover within CNS
What are typical features of cerebral folate deficiency?
- Irritability
- Sleep
- Deceleration of head growth
- Progressive hearing and visual impairment
- Dyskinesia
- Epilepsy
Immune etiology
- CNS inflammation - associated with increased risk of developping epilepsy
What is an example of immune etiology?
- Anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis
2. Antibodies are directed against the NR1 sibunit of NMDA receptor
What does prodrome Anti-NMDAR encephalities symptoms?
- Fever
- Headache
- Nausea
- Vomitting
- Diarrhea
For the symptomatic phase, what are the symptoms?
- Psychiatric and behavioral symptoms
- Anxiety
- Bizarre behaviour
- Delirium
- Paranoia o Insomnia or hypersomnia
o Altered level of consciousness
o Seizures (focal or generalized)
o Movement disorders: oral-motor dyskinesias, choreiform movements
o Hypoventilation
o Autonomic instability: incontinence, tachycardia, hypertension, hyperthermia
Infection etiology
- Bacterial Meningitis
- Meningococus, pneumococcus, haemophilus infleunza B
- Acute seizure - related to fever or subdural collection, cerebritis or cerebral infarction
What may reduce the incidence of specific bacterial meningitides?
Immunization programs
What is another example of infection etiology?
Cerebral malaria
1.• Plasmodium falciparum in sub-Saharan Africa Plasmodium vivax in Asia causes similar neurological complications and epilepsy
Genetic etiology
- SCN1A
2. sodium channel, voltage gated, type 1, alpha subunit gene located on chromosome 2q24.3
What is the SCN1A gene product?
Alpha subunit of the NaV1.1 sodium channel
What is Nav1.1 sodium channel important for?
Controlling sodium transport into neurons
What may polymorphosm in SCN1A gene affect?
Efficacy and adverse effects of sodium channel blocking anti-seizure medication
Animal models have been very successful and crucial in development of what?
Numerous clinical effective anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs)
Need to have better efficacy and tolerability
What happens when you take 1 to 3 AEDs ?
About 70% patients obtain good seizure control
about 40-60% patients experience adverse effects e.g. cognitive impairment, tiredness, skin rash, dizziness, weight gain
What is treated with valproate since it is cheap and effective?
Generalised epilepsies with tonic-clonic convulsuons