Epilepsy Essay -- Neurology Neurological Disorders Essays

EpilepsyEpilepsy is a very common neurological disorder. Some reports estimate that v in one-thousand people suffer from this problem. Throughout history, people with epilepsy have been shunned or considered inferior. Even today, ignorance leads many a(prenominal) people to treat the epileptic as affected or retarded. Although the etiology of epilepsy is still not fully understood, it is sort of treatable due to advances in modern medicine. Epilepsy is characterized by uncontrolled excessive bodily process of either a part of, or all(a) of the central offensive system. A person who is predisposed to epilepsy has attacks when the basal level of excitability of the offensive system rises above a certain critical threshold. As broad as the degree of excitability is held below this threshold, no attack occurs. Basically, epilepsy rear be classified into three major types grand mal, petit mal, and focal or partial epilepsy. Grand mal epilepsy is characterized by extreme neuronal d ischarges in all areas of the nous in the cortex, in the deeper parts of the cerebrum, and even in the brain stem and thalamus. Also, discharges into the spinal cord hit generalized tonic convulsions of the holy body, followed toward the end of the attack by alternating tonic and then off-and-on(a) muscular contractions called tonic-clonic convulsions. Often the person bites or swallows the tongue and usually has trouble in breathing, sometimes to the extent of developing cyanosis. Also, signals to the viscera frequently cause urination and defecation. The grand mal seizures lasts from a few seconds to as long as three to four minutes and is characterized by post-seizure depression of the entire nauseated system the person remains in stupor for one to many minute... ...l. 16 S31-S38. Bleck, T. and H. Klawans. (1990) Convulsive Disorders Mechanism of Epilepsy and Anticonvulsant Action. Clinical Neuropharmacology 13(2)121-128. Cohen, P. G. (1984) The Metabolic backside for the Genesis of Seizures The Role of the Potassium-Ammonia Axis. Medical Hypothesis, 13199-204. Craig, C. R. (1984) Evidence for a utilization of neurotransmitters in the mechanism of topical convulsant models. Federal Proceedings, 43(10)2525-2528. Fisher, R. S. (1989) Animal models of the epilepsies. Brain explore Review, 14245-278. Guyton, Arthur C. Textbook of Medical Physiology, 8th Ed. ,Saunders Co. (1991) p.663-665. W.B. Schmidt, D., C. Cornaggia, and W. Loscher. (1984) Comparative Studies of the GABA system of rules in Neurosurgical Brain Specimens of Epileptic and Non-epileptic Patients. Neurotransmitters, Seizures, and Epilepsy II, p.275-283.