Neurology Flashcards
What is childhood epilepsy?
Epilepsy is a brain condition that causes a child to have seizures
What are the different types of focal seizures?
Simple focal seizure
Complex focal seizure
What are the symptoms of simple focal seizure?
- The symptoms depend on which area of the brain is affected.
- The seizure activity is limited to an isolated muscle group. For example, it may only include the fingers, or larger muscles in the arms and legs.
- Your child may also have sweating, nausea, or become pale.
- Your child won’t lose consciousness in this type of seizure.
What are the symptoms of complex focal seizures?
- This type of seizure often occurs in the area of the brain that controls emotion and memory function (temporal lobe).
- Your child will likely lose consciousness.
- These may range from gagging, lip smacking, running, screaming, crying, or laughing.
- Your child may be tired or sleepy after the seizure.
- This is called the postictal period.
What are the different types of generalised seizures?
- Absence seizures (petit mal)
- Atonic seizures
- Generalised tonic-clonic seizures (grand-mal)
- Myoclonic seizures
What are the symptoms of absence seizures?
How long do they last?
This is also called petit mal seizure
Changed state of consciousness and staring
Mouth or face may twitch or eyes may blink rapidly
Not recall what just occurred
These seizures may occur several times a day
The seizure usually lasts no longer than 30 seconds
At what age do absence seizures start?
Between the ages of 4 and 12
What are the symptoms of an atonic seizure?
This is also called a drop attack
With an atonic seizure, your child has a sudden loss of muscle tone and may fall from a standing position
What are the symptoms of a generalised tonic-clonic seizure?
This is also called grand mal seizure
The classic form of this kind of seizure has 5 distinct phases.
- Flex (contract)
- Extend (straighten out)
- Tremor (shake)
- Contraction and relaxation of the muscles (clonic period)
- Postictal period
What are the symptoms of myoclonic seizures?
Quick movements or sudden jerking of a group of muscles
These seizures tend to occur in clusters
this means that they may occur several times a day, or for several days in a row.
What are the causes of seizures in a child?
An imbalance of nerve-signaling brain chemicals (neurotransmitters)
Brain tumor
Stroke
Brain damage from illness or injury
How are seizures diagnosed in a child?
Asked for any of the following:
Recent fever or infection
Head injury
Congenital health conditions
Preterm birth
Recent medicines
EEG
Absence seizures - 3Hz
Lennox-Gastaut syndrome - 1.5 Hz - 2.5 HZ
Spinal tap
What are infantile spasms (West’s syndrome)?
Brief spasms beginning in first few (4-6) months of life; M>F
What are the symptoms of infantile spasms?
Flexion of head, trunk, limbs → extension of arms
(Salaam attack);
last 1-2 secs, repeat up to 50 times
How do you diagnose infantile spasms?
- Progressive mental handicap
- EEG: hypsarrhythmia
- Usually 2nd to serious neurological abnormality (e.g. TS, encephalitis, birth asphyxia) or may be cryptogenic
