1/193. Eighteen fractures in a man with profound mental retardation.A 39-year-old man with generalized tonic clonic epilepsy and profound mental retardation sustained 18 fractures (15 in appendicular and 3 in axial bones) during 19 years. Both femoral necks were fractured, requiring surgical repair. Although he had been on antiepileptic drugs for 35 years, he had no radiographic or biochemical sign of osteomalacia. He had a very low bone mineral density, suggesting osteoporosis. This case illustrates an important medical problem affecting people with developmental disability and a management challenge for their caretakers.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = epilepsy (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/193. Cerebral abscess after presumed superficial periorbital wound.Penetrating wounds in the periorbital region may appear superficial and minor at first glance. The unique shape and thin bony roof of the orbit give these injuries a significant risk of associated intracranial penetration. This can initially be asymptomatic, and a high index of suspicion is essential to properly diagnose and treat these injuries. We report a case of an 8-year-old female who presented with delayed seizures from a frontal abscess resulting from such an injury. This article reviews the literature and discusses the appropriate management that should be used by emergency room and military physicians.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.0024247778670821keywords = frontal (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/193. Neurogenic pulmonary oedema after generalized epileptic seizure.The diagnosis 'tonic clonic seizure' is frequently established by emergency physicians on scene. In patients with epilepsy mortality due to accidents, asphyxia, cardiac arrhythmias or postictal neurogenic pulmonary oedema (NPO) is twice as high as in the general population. We report a case of acute pulmonary oedema after a tonic clonic seizure. Following this event, the patient developed respiratory insufficiency and evidence of pulmonary oedema not associated with the classic aetiologies of congestive heart failure, aspiration or toxic exposure. The patient survived the incident after aggressive prehospital treatment, long-term intensive care and subsequent rehabilitation. A systematic case analysis and an introduction to the pathophysiology of NPO are presented. We recommend a positive approach to the management of NPO consisting primarily of interventions to stabilize vital functions, decrease intracranial pressure and normalize vegetative dysregulation. Emergency physicians need to consider the possibility of NPO in all cases of pulmonary oedema of unknown origin.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = epilepsy (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/193. Acute psychotic symptoms induced by topiramate.The incidence of psychosis during clinical trials of topiramate was 0.8%, not significantly different from the rate for placebo or reported rates of psychosis in patients with refractory epilepsy. We observed psychotic symptoms in five patients soon after initiation of topiramate therapy. We performed a retrospective chart review of the first 80 patients who began on topiramate after approval for clinical use, between January and April 1997. Symptoms suggestive of psychosis, including hallucinations and delusions, were sought for analysis. Cognitive effects such as psychomotor slowing, confusion, and somnolence were not included. Five patients developed definite psychotic symptoms 2 to 46 days after beginning topiramate. Dosages at symptom onset were 50-400 mg/day. Symptoms included paranoid delusions in four patients and auditory hallucinations in three. Symptoms of psychosis and other psychiatric symptoms resolved quickly with discontinuation of topiramate in three patients, dose reduction from 300 to 200 mg/day in one and with inpatient treatment and neuroleptics in another. One patient had a history of auditory hallucinations, one of aggressive and suicidal thoughts, but three had no significant psychiatric history. physicians should be aware of the possibility of psychotic symptoms, even in patients without a previous psychiatric history, when prescribing topiramate. Symptoms resolve quickly with discontinuation.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = epilepsy (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/193. Plant-induced seizures: reappearance of an old problem.Several plant-derived essential oils have been known for over a century to have epileptogenic properties. We report three healthy patients, two adults and one child, who suffered from an isolated generalized tonic-clonic seizure and a generalized tonic status, respectively, related to the absorption of several of these oils for therapeutic purposes. No other cause of epilepsy was found, and outcome was good in the two adult cases, but the course has been less favorable in the child. A survey of the literature shows essential oils of 11 plants to be powerful convulsants (eucalyptus, fennel, hyssop, pennyroyal, rosemary, sage, savin, tansy, thuja, turpentine, and wormwood) due to their content of highly reactive monoterpene ketones, such as camphor, pinocamphone, thujone, cineole, pulegone, sabinylacetate, and fenchone. Our three cases strongly support the concept of plant-related toxic seizure. Nowadays the wide use of these compounds in certain unconventional medicines makes this severe complication again possible.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = epilepsy (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/193. A retarded boy with seizures precipitated by stepping into the bath water.This report describes the unusual case of a boy with partial deletion in the proximal region of a long arm of chromosome 2 and reflex epilepsy. seizures with identical onset were precipitated predictably by two independent triggers, micturition and immersion of the feet in tepid or hot water. A seizure precipitated by immersion could be reproduced under video and EEG monitoring. The EEG seizure onset was in the central midline region.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = epilepsy (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/193. Bifocal temporal ganglioglioma.The authors present the case of a 33-year-old patient with a bifocal ganglioglioma located in the right superior temporal gyrus. He had a history of tonic-clonic seizures and developed intermittent nausea and vertigo later on. magnetic resonance imaging showed two distinct, small lesions in the right temporal lobe. Both tumors were removed microsurgically with ultrasound guidance. Intraoperatively, two distinct tumors were found. Histological diagnosis of both tumors was of ganglioglioma WHO II. Postoperatively, the patient was free of symptoms. Bifocal occurrence or the coincidence of two distinct gangliogliomas is a very uncommon finding. So far, it has not yet been reported in benign gangliogliomas.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.00029995571321319keywords = lobe (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/193. Hippocampal sclerosis: development in adult life.Hippocampal sclerosis (HS) is the most common pathological lesion underlying intractable temporal lobe epilepsy. It is not known whether HS exists before the onset of epilepsy or whether it is caused by seizures. Its has been proposed that childhood seizures cause HS. Optimized magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), hippocampal volumes and T(2) signal quantitation were performed 2 weeks and 8 months following at tonic-clonic seizure in a 23-year-old man. MRI 14 days after the seizure showed symmetrical hippocampal volumes (ratio R/L = 1.03) with intact internal architecture bilaterally but marked signal change in the right hippocampus (T(2) right = 121, T(2) left = 103, normal < or = 108 ms). Eight months later this hippocampus showed severe atrophy with a volume ratio of 0.65 and T(2) values of 117 (right) and 109 ms (left). High-resolution imaging showed that volume loss occurred mainly in the CA1 region which showed high signal in the initial study. Characteristic MRI features of HS can develop in adults and HS cannot always be assumed to have its origins in childhood. Hypoxia in the context of seizures may be an important component in hippocampal damage. HS may be a preventable lesion and MRI signal change seen in the neuronal layers of the hippocampus may be an indication for neuroprotection. copyright copyright 1999 S. Karger AG, Basel- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2.0259685482864keywords = epilepsy, lobe epilepsy, lobe, childhood (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/193. fetal heart rate during a maternal grand mal epileptic seizure.Although maternal ingestion of antiepileptic drugs is strongly suspected of causing congenital defects, particularly oral clefts, the effect of epilepsy itself or a combined effect of drug intake and epilepsy have not been excluded as etiological factors. Very little is known about fetal oxygenation during a maternal grand mal epileptic seizure. We describe two cases in which fetal heart rate was recorded during a maternal epileptic seizure during labor. The first fetus became clearly asphyctic as judged from the fetal heart rate recording: immediately after the epileptic seizure there was a 13-minute continuous bradycardia wave with decreased short-term variability. After the bradycardia a phase of tachycardia with decreased short-term and long-term variability occurred. In the other fetus there was only a short period of bradycardia, which was followed by a phase of tachycardia and decreased short-term and long-term variability. Both fetuses were vigorous at birth 43 and 87 minutes, respectively, after the epileptic seizures of their mothers. We conclude that a maternal grand mal epileptic seizure can be ominous to the fetus. It is therefore important that epileptic seizures are controlled by optimal medication throughout pregnancy.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = epilepsy (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/193. Northern epilepsy: a novel form of neuronal ceroid-lipofuscinosis.Northern epilepsy is an autosomal recessive childhood onset epilepsy syndrome, clinically characterized by generalized tonic-clonic seizures with onset at 5 to 10 years of age and subsequent slowly progressive mental deterioration. The patients may reach 50 or 60 years of age. A mutation responsible for the disease has recently been identified in a novel gene on chromosome 8p23, encoding a putative membrane protein with an unknown function. The present study, based on three autopsied patients, is the first neuropathological analysis of the disease, and showed intraneuronal accumulation of cytoplasmic autofluorescent granules. The granules were strongly stained by the Luxol fast blue, periodic acid-Schiff, and sudan black B methods in paraffin sections, and were immunoreactive for subunit c of the mitochondrial ATP synthase and sphingolipid activator proteins A and D. The intraneuronal storage was highly selective: the third layer of the isocortex and the hippocampal CA2, CA3, and CA4 sectors were severely affected, while other layers of the isocortex, the CA1 sector, and the cerebellar cortex were only minimally involved. The membrane-bound storage cytosomes showed a curvilinear ultrastructure with admixture of some granular components. Western blotting and N-terminal sequence analysis of purified storage material identified subunit c as the major component.These findings establish Northern epilepsy as a new form of neuronal ceroid-lipofuscinosis with an exceptionally protracted course.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 7.0000354588808keywords = epilepsy, childhood (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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