Grand Round at the PLTW Hospital Caroline Stroud

Patient A ten year old boy was brought into the hospital, with complaints about being more aggressive and angry. His mother said that he was having convulsions and shaking all over after coming back from laser tag. He fell on the floor, but he did not remember this. All he remembered was that he smelled a bad odor before he fell.

Parts of the Brain Effected The boys anger and aggression is coming from the impulsive part the brain the frontal lobe. The loss of memory comes from the hippocampus and the frontal lobes of the brain.

The Diagnosis The boy is diagnosed with a disease called epilepsy. All the symptoms and the parts of the brain that are affected all lead to epilepsy. The boy will be sent to a neurologist to be checked out further to see exactly how serious the epilepsy is.

What is Epilepsy? Epilepsy is a seizure disorder that makes the person it affects have repeated seizures, or convulsions over a time period. Seizures are episodes brain activity that cause changes in attention or behavior. To be epilepsy the person has more than one seizure in their life.

What Causes Epilepsy? Epilepsy can be caused by many different things. Some permanent changes in the brain tissue can cause the brain to be too excitable. This causes the brain to send out abnormal signals. Some things that cause this are infections, brain damage, abnormal blood vessels, or some medicines.

Visuals of Brains and Neurons Affected by Epilepsy Below is a picture of how a neuron works. Above is a normal brain compared to a brain of an epileptic person.

What Is Life with Epilepsy going to be like? Most people who have epilepsy have normal lives. Some of the worse cases of it can have shorter lives and also have permanent brain damage. People can get frustrated and have behavioral and emotional problems. Some even get bullied and made fun of. People with epilepsy cannot drive and have a lower rate of getting into places for work. They cannot be around flashing lights or strobe lights.

General Doctor Many patients with epilepsy go to their regular, general doctor first. The doctor may run some test on them and ask them what their symptoms are. The general doctor will most likely assign the patient a neurologist that they know and send them there for further examination.

Neurologist A neurologist can help a person with epilepsy. They can do different neurological tests to see what is causing the brain to have multiple seizures. Neurologists can help prescribe medicines and things that will help with epilepsy.

References http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001714/ http://www.everydayhealth.com/epilepsy/understanding/epilepsys-affect-on-daily-life.aspx