Grace Lezcano
Dr.Middleton
M,W @ 2:30pm
Case Study #3

1. Epilepsy is a group of neurological disorders characterized by epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures are episodes that can vary from brief and nearly undetectable to pro-longed periods of vigorous shaking. In epilepsy, seizures tend to recur, and have no immediate underlying cause while seizures that occur due to a specific cause are not deemed to represent epilepsy. Epilepsy is diagnosed through testing most commonly using an EEG or MRI like in Jerrod’s case. Three types of epilepsy are idiopathic, symptomatic and partial.
2. An electroencephalogram (EEG) is a test that measures and records the electrical activity of your brain during an EEG, the electrical signals of the brain are recorded. This electrical activity is detected by electrodes, or sensors, placed on the patient's scalp and transmitted to a polygraph that records the activity. Jerrod’s test had a pattern of spikes that showed his seizure activity. A MRI scan is Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a test that produces high-quality, still and moving pictures of the heart and large blood vessels. An MRI uses large magnets and radio-frequency waves to produce pictures of the body's internal structures. In Jerrod’s case they used the MRI to track the progression of damage his brain had undergone after multiple seizures. Both scans were used in Jerrod’s case to help diagnose epilepsy.
3. Two other possible causes of seizures are head injury and disease. Jerrod is said to be an active seven year old who is involved in many sports, this is possibly a cause of his seizures if he were hit in the head during an activity. Also there is a possibility that he has an underlying disease that could have caused his seizures to occur.
4. A grand mal seizure is specific type of seizure that involves loss of consciousness, loss of muscle coordination and can cause loss of bowel and bladder. It involves muscle rigidity and can cause spasms of the arms and legs. The person usually has a period following a grand mal seizure that they go into a deep sleep. A partial seizure only involves a portion of the brain. Partial seizures vary in their effect on the person’s movements, behavior and sensation. During partial seizures the person affected is said to have a blank stare, jerkin in an arm or leg and after the seizure a person many be disoriented for a few minutes. These symptoms are aligned with the symptoms Jerrod’s parents described, Jerrod presented a blank stare, twitching and weakness in his muscles, and no memory of the incident.
5. Treatment for partial seizures include a long term medication regiment commonly used medications being Dilantin, Depakote, and Lamictal etc. Another treatment method vagus nerve stimulation which uses a device that is implanted in the chest with a wire that runs to the large vagus nerve in the neck. The device sends out pulses of electricity into the nerve.
6. Rasmussen Syndrome is an autoimmune process that causes one hemisphere of the patient’s brain to become inflamed and