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This November, for National Epilepsy Awareness Month, the Epilepsy Foundation is asking everyone to Get Seizure Smart about seizure first aid, recognition and types. Epilepsy affects people of all ages and races, and represents one percent of the population in this country—nearly 3 million people...
The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved Botox, the anti-wrinkle shot from Allergan, as a treatment to prevent chronic migraines.....
The agency’s decision endorses doctors’ use of Botox to treat patients who suffer from a severe form of migraine involving headaches on at least 15 days a month. Britain’sdrug agency approved Botox for the same use this summer.
Botox is already approved by the F.D.A. to treat uncontrolled blinking; crossed eyes; certain neck muscle spasms; excessive underarm sweating; and stiffness associated with muscle spasticity in the elbows and hands. It also is approved for cosmetic purposes — to smooth lines between the eyebrows.
New research suggests children exposed to secondhand smoke are at risk to develop a variety of mental and physical health problems.
Investigators presented findings that show significantly higher rates of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), headaches and stuttering among children exposed to secondhand smoke than those who are not exposed.
Shttp://psychcentral.com/news/2010/10/11/secondary-smoke-linked-to-adhd-in-children/19456.html
An Ontario mother refused to accept her infant had cerebral palsy and fought to get a second opinion. It turns out she was right: he had another, easily treatable disease called dopamine-responsive dystonia.
The condition is part of a group of illnesses that cause repetitive and painful muscle contractions. It can be mistaken for cerebral palsy, but unlike CP, this condition can be treated, if patients get the right diagnosis.
At three months of age, Corinne Fewster-Gagne's son Beckham started showing symptoms of clenched fists, painful stiffness, and uncontrollable crying.
"I was shocked," she told CTV News. "The only question I could think to ask at the time was, 'Is my son ever going to be able to walk?'"
She refused to accept the diagnosis and searched for a second opinion.....
Educational Note - Children can have movement disorders that mimic CP. JR
http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Health/20100919/dystonia-100919/
Another video...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxFO-SjA-P4&feature=player_embedded#!
On July 9, 2009, Steve Wulchin went to wake his 19-year-old son, Eric, in their home in Boulder, Colo. Eric had been given a diagnosis of epilepsy three years earlier, but other than that, his father said, “there was nothing out of the ordinary.” His seizures had been well controlled; he had not had one in six months.
Yet that morning, Mr. Wulchin found Eric lying on the floor. CPR and paramedics were too late; Eric had died at about 2:30 a.m.
The cause of Eric’s death was ultimately listed as Sudep, for sudden unexplained death in epilepsy. The syndrome accounts for up to 18 percent of all deaths in people with epilepsy, by most estimates; those with poorly controlled seizures have an almost 1 in 10 chance of dying over the course of a decade.
Yet many patients and their families never hear about Sudep until someone dies. Mr. Wulchin said none of Eric’s four neurologists ever mentioned it to the family.
“The message we got back was, ‘There’s no reason why he can’t live a long and normal life,’ ” he said. “It never occurred to me that this was a possibility.”
Now, physicians, researchers, advocates and relatives like Mr. Wulchin, a technology executive, are trying to raise awareness about Sudep. One of their goals is to establish registries of deaths and autopsy results, building databases to support future research.
Sudep most often affects young adults, typically ages 20 to 40, with a history of the convulsive seizures once known as “grand mal.” Others at risk include those with difficult-to-control seizures, or seizures at night; people who take a large number of anti-epileptic medications or take them irregularly; African-Americans with epilepsy; and people with epilepsy whose I.Q. is under 70......more....
Knocks to the head may seem funny in cartoons, sports replays, and YouTube videos, but even minor head injuries often lead to serious concussions. A concussion may leave no trace on a conventional MRI scan yet cause permanent memory loss, attention problems, and depression. NOVA scienceNOW investigates promising new leads in understanding this puzzling condition, which affects millions of people in the U.S., including many high-school and college athletes who suffer concussions yet are encouraged to return to the playing field.
Allison Weiss1; Fang Xu, MS1; Amy Storfer-Isser, MS1; Alicia Thomas, MS, RD, LD1; Carolyn E. Ievers-Landis, PhD2; Susan Redline, MD, MPH1
Study Objectives: To investigate the relation between sleep duration and energy consumption in an adolescent cohort.
Design: Cross-sectional.
Setting: Free-living environment.
Participants: Two hundred forty adolescents (mean age 17.7 ± 0.4 years).
Measurements and Results: Daily 24-hour food-recall questionnaires and wrist-actigraphy measurements of sleep duration were employed to test the hypothesis that shorter weekday sleep duration (< p =" 0.004)" p =" 0.001).">Conclusion: Quantitative measures of macronutrient intake in adolescents were associated with objectively measured sleep duration. Short sleep duration may increase obesity risk by causing small changes in eating patterns that cumulatively alter energy balance.
Keywords: Sleep duration, diet, obesity, adolescents, 24-hour food recall
Epilepsy Res. 2010 Aug;90(3):171-7. Epub 2010 May 31.
Sleep Medicine and Epilepsy Unit, IRCCS C. Mondino National Institute of Neurology Foundation, Via Mondino 2, Pavia, Italy. raffaele.manni@mondino.it
Despite being relatively common and potentially able to have clinical and pathophysiological consequences, the comorbidity between epilepsy and sleep disorders is poorly investigated in the literature and rarely taken into consideration by clinicians in general practice. There is increasing evidence that obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) coexists in epilepsy (in 10% of unselected adult epilepsy patients, 20% of children with epilepsy and up to 30% of drug-resistant epilepsy patients). A few lines of evidence suggest that continuous positive airway pressure treatment of OSA in epilepsy patients improves seizure control, cognitive performance and quality of life. Parasomnias and epileptic seizures can coexist in the same subject making the differential diagnosis of these conditions particularly challenging. In childhood, a frequent association between epilepsy and NREM arousal parasomnias, enuresis and rhythmic movement disorder has been documented. A particular pattern of association has been found between nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy (NFLE) and NREM arousal parasomnias, the latter being found in the personal or family history of up to one third of NFLE patients. As far as REM parasomnias are concerned, REM sleep behaviour disorder, unrecognised or misdiagnosed, has been found to co-occur in 12% of elderly epilepsy patients. Patients with epilepsy often complain of poor, non-restorative sleep; however, insomnia in epilepsy is poorly investigated, with the literature giving conflicting prevalence data and no information on the impact of this disorder on seizure control, or on the best therapeutic approach to insomnia in this particular group of patients. A greater awareness, among clinicians, of the comorbidities between sleep disorders and epilepsy may help to prevent misdiagnosis and mistreatment. Sleep hygiene measures in epilepsy need to be more comprehensive, taking into account the various pathologies that may underlie disordered sleep in epilepsy patients.
PMID: 20570109
A seizure diary is a record of when seizures occur, and what happened during the attack. These can be recorded on any diary, spreadsheet or calendar (e.g. Google or a free "Gus' Pet Wash" promotional calendar). I have offered some basic requirements for a diary and links to sites with ready-made templates for seizure diaries. I welcome recommendatons and reviews! Dr. Rotenberg, Houston TX
In their simplest form, they consist of a "count" of seizures within a day, week, or month, which will let your doctor calculate the seizure frequency. More sophisticated diaries, however, can include information about other factors as well:
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Cerebral palsy is condition, sometimes thought of as a group of disorders that can involve brain and nervous system functions such as movement, learning, hearing, seeing, and thinking.
Ther are several different types of cerebral palsy, including spastic, dyskinetic, ataxic, hypotonic, and mixed.
Spastic paralysis; Paralysis - spastic; Spastic hemiplegia; Spastic diplegia; Spastic quadriplegia
Cerebral palsy is caused by injuries or abnormalities of the brain. Most of these problems occur as the baby grows in the womb, but they can happen at any time during the first 2 years of life, while the baby's brain is still developing.
In some people with cerebral palsy, parts of the brain are injured due to low levels of oxygen (hypoxia) in the area. It is not known why this occurs.
Premature infants have a slightly higher risk of developing cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy may also occur during early infancy as a result of several conditions, including:
Bleeding in the brain
Brain infections (encephalitis, meningitis, herpes simplex infections)
Head injury
Infections in the mother during pregnancy (rubella)
Severe jaundice
In some cases the cause of cerebral palsy is never determined.
Symptoms of cerebral palsy can be very different between people with this group of disorders. Symptoms may:
Be very mild or very severe
Only involve one side of the body or both sides
Be more pronounced in either the arms or legs, or involve both the arms and legs
Symptoms are usually seen before a child is 2 years old, and sometimes begin as early as 3 months. Parents may notice that their child is delayed in reaching, and in developmental stages such as sitting, rolling, crawling, or walking.
There are several different types of cerebral palsy. Some people have a mixture of symptoms.
Symptoms of spastic cerebral palsy, the most common type, include:
Muscles that are very tight and do not stretch. They may tighten up even more over time.
Abnormal walk (gait): arms tucked in toward the sides, knees crossed or touching, legs make "scissors" movements, walk on the toes
Joints are tight and do not open up all the way (called joint contracture)
Muscle weakness or loss of movement in a group of muscles (paralysis)
The symptoms may affect one arm or leg, one side of the body, both legs, or both arms and legs
The following symptoms may occur in other types of cerebral palsy:
Abnormal movements (twisting, jerking, or writhing) of the hands, feet, arms, or legs while awake, which gets worse during periods of stress
Tremors
Unsteady gait
Loss of coordination
Floppy muscles, especially at rest, and joints that move around too much
Other brain and nervous system symptoms:
Decreased intelligence or learning disabilities are common, but intelligence can be normal
Speech problems (dysarthria)
Hearing or vision problems
Seizures
Pain, especially in adults (can be difficult to manage)
Eating and digestive symptoms
Difficulty sucking or feeding in infants, or chewing and swallowing in older children and adults
Problems swallowing (at all ages)
Vomiting or constipation
Other symptoms:
Increased drooling
Slower than normal growth
Irregular breathing
Urinary incontinence
A full neurological exam is critical. In older people, testing cognitive function is also important.
The following other tests may be performed:
Blood tests
CT scan of the head
Electroencephalogram (EEG)
Hearing screen
MRI of the head
Vision testing
There is no cure for cerebral palsy. The goal of treatment is to help the person be as independent as possible.
Treatment requires a team approach, including:
Primary care doctor
Dentist (dental check-ups are recommended around every 6 months)
Social worker
Nurses
Occupational, physical, and speech therapists
Other specialists, including a neurologist, rehabilitation physician, pulmonologist, and gastroenterologist
Treatment is based on the person's symptoms and the need to prevent complications.
Self and home care include:
Getting enough food and nutrition
Keeping the home safe
Performing exercises recommended by the health care providers
Practicing proper bowel care (stool softeners, fluids, fiber, laxatives, regular bowel habits)
Protecting the joints from injury
Putting the child in regular schools is recommended, unless physical disabilities or mental development makes this impossible. Special education or schooling may help.
The following may help with communication and learning:
Glasses
Hearing aids
Muscle and bone braces
Walking aids
Wheelchairs
Physical therapy, occupational therapy, orthopedic help, or other treatments may also be needed to help with daily activities and care.
Medications may include:
Anticonvulsants to prevent or reduce the frequency of seizures
Botulinum toxin to help with spasticity and drooling
Muscle relaxants (baclofen) to reduce tremors and spasticity
Surgery may be needed in some cases to:
Control gastroesophageal reflux
Cut certain nerves from the spinal cord to help with pain and spasticity
Place feeding tubes
Release joint contractures
Stress and burnout among parents and other caregivers of cerebral palsy patients is common, and should be monitored.
For organizations that provide support and additional information, see cerebral palsy resources.
Cerebral palsy is a lifelong disorder. Long-term care may be required. The disorder does not affect expected length of life. The amount of disability varies.
Many adults are able to live in the community, either independently or with different levels of help. In severe cases, the person may need to be placed in an institution.
Bone thinning or osteoporosis
Bowel obstruction
Hip dislocation and arthritis in the hip joint
Injuries from falls
Joint contractures
Pneumonia caused by choking
Poor nutrition
Reduced communication skills (sometimes)
Reduced intellect (sometimes)
Scoliosis
Seizures (in about half of patients)
Social stigma
Call your health care provider if symptoms of cerebral palsy develop, especially if you know that an injury occurred during birth or early infancy.
Getting the proper prenatal care may reduce the risk of some rare causes of cerebral palsy. However, dramatic improvements in care over the last 15 years have not reduced the rate of cerebral palsy. In most cases, the injury causing the disorder may not be preventable.
Pregnant mothers with certain medical conditions may need to be followed in a high-risk prenatal clinic.
Johnston MV. Encephalopathies. In: Kliegman RM, Behrman RE, Jenson HB, Stanton BF, eds. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 18th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007: chap 598.
Whelan MA. Practice parameter: diagnostic assessment of the child with cerebral palsy: report of the Quality Standards Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology and the Practice Committee of the Child Neurology Society. Neurology. 2004;63:1985-1986.
Reid SM, Johnstone BR, Westbury C, Rawicki B, Reddihough DS. Randomized trial of botulinum toxin injections into the salivary glands to reduce drooling in children with neurological disorders. Dev Med Child Neurol. 2008;50:123-126.
Sakzewski L, Ziviani J, Boyd R. Systematic review and meta-analysis of therapeutic management of upper-limb dysfunction in children with congenital hemiplegia. Pediatrics. 2009;123:e1111-1122.
What It Is
An electroencephalogram (EEG) is a non-painful monitoring test used to detect abnormalities related to electrical activity of the brain. This procedure tracks and records brain wave patterns. Small metal discs with thin wires (electrodes) are placed on the scalp, and then send signals to a computer to record the results. Normal electrical activity in the brain makes a recognizable pattern. Through an EEG, doctors can look for abnormal patterns that indicate seizures and other problems.
Why It's Done
The most common reason an EEG is performed is to diagnose and monitor seizure disorders. EEGs can also help to identify causes of other problems such as sleep disorders and changes in behavior. EEGs are sometimes used to evaluate brain activity after a severe head injury or before heart or liver transplantation.
Preparation
If your child is having an EEG, preparation is minimal. Your child's hair should be clean and free of oils, sprays, and conditioner to help the electrodes stick to the scalp.
Your doctor may recommend that your child stop taking certain medications before the test that can alter results.
It's often recommended that kids avoid caffeine up to 8 hours before the test. If it's necessary for your child to sleep during the EEG, the doctor will suggest ways to help make this easier including sleep deprivation.
The Procedure
An EEG can either be performed in an area near the doctor's office or at a hospital. Your child will be asked to lie on a bed or sit in a chair. The EEG technician will attach electrodes to different locations on the scalp using adhesive paste. Each electrode is connected to an amplifier and EEG recording machine.
The electrical signals from the brain are converted into wavy lines on a computer screen. Your child will be asked to lie still because movement can alter the results.
If the goal of the EEG is to mimic or produce the problem your child is experiencing, he or she may be asked to look at a bright flickering light or breathe a certain way. The health care provider performing the EEG will know your child's medical history and will be prepared for any issues that may arise during the test.
Most EEGs take about an hour to perform. If your child is required to sleep during it, the test will take longer. You might be able to stay in the room with your child, or you can step outside to a waiting area
What to Expect – No Pain, No Pain
An EEG isn't uncomfortable and patients do not feel any shocks on the scalp or elsewhere; however, having electrodes pasted to the scalp can be a little stressful for kids, as can lying still during the test.
Getting the Results
A neurologist (a doctor trained in nervous system disorders) will read and interpret the results. Though EEGs vary in complexity and duration, results are typically available in several days.
Risks
EEGs are very safe. If your child has a seizure disorder, your doctor might want to stimulate and record a seizure during the EEG. A seizure can be triggered by flashing lights or a change in breathing pattern.
Helping Your Child – Tap into their imagination
You can best ease your child through this procedure by “joining them” on an adventure of their choice. Perhaps they are going to the moon? The hair salon?
You can also help prepare your child for an EEG by explaining that the test won't be uncomfortable. You can describe the room and the equipment that will be used, and reassure your child that you'll be right there for support. Bring their favorite books or toys.
For older kids, be sure to explain the importance of keeping still while the EEG is done so it won't have to be repeated.
If You Have Questions
If you have questions about the EEG procedure, speak with your doctor. You can also talk to the EEG technician before the exam.
J Child Neurol. 2010 Jul 20. [Epub ahead of print]
Groomes LB, Pyzik PL, Turner Z, Dorward JL, Goode VH, Kossoff EH.
The John M. Freeman Pediatric Epilepsy Center, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Dietary therapies are established as beneficial for symptomatic generalized epilepsies such as Lennox-Gastaut syndrome; however, the outcome for idiopathic generalized epilepsy has never been specifically reported. The efficacy of the ketogenic and modified Atkins diet for childhood and juvenile absence epilepsy was evaluated from both historical literature review and patients treated at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Upon review of 17 published studies in which absence epilepsy was included as a patient subpopulation, approximately 69% of 133 with clear outcomes patients who received the ketogenic diet had a >50% seizure reduction, and 34% of these patients became seizure free. At Johns Hopkins Hospital, the ketogenic diet (n = 8) and modified Atkins diet (n = 13) led to similar outcomes, with 18 (82%) having a >50% seizure reduction, of which 10 (48%) had a >90% seizure reduction and 4 (19%) were seizure free. Neither age at diet onset, number of anticonvulsants used previously, particular diet used, nor gender correlated with success.
PMID: 20647578 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
