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Query: UMLS:C0036572 (seizures)
 80,221 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The postconcussion syndrome refers to a large number of symptoms and signs that may occur alone or in combination following usually mild head injury. The most common complaints are headaches, dizziness, fatigue, irritability, anxiety, insomnia, loss of consciousness and memory, and noise sensitivity. Mild head injury is a major public health concern because the annual incidence is about 150 per 100,000 population, accounting for 75% or more of all head injuries. The postconcussion syndrome has been recognized for at least the last few hundred years and has been the subject of intense controversy for more than 100 years. The Hollywood head injury myth has been an important contributor to persisting skepticism and might be countered by educational efforts and counter-examples from boxing. The organicity of the postconcussion syndrome has now become well documented. Abnormalities following mild head injury have been reported in neuropathologic, neurophysiologic, neuroimaging, and neuropsychologic studies. There are multiple sequelae of mild head injury, including headaches of multiple types, cranial nerve symptoms and signs, psychologic and somatic complaints, and cognitive impairment. Rare sequelae include hematomas, seizures, transient global amnesia, tremor, and dystonia. Neuroimaging and physiologic and psychologic testing should be used judiciously based on the problems of the particular patient rather than in a cookbook fashion. Prognostic studies clearly substantiate the existence of a postconcussion syndrome. Manifestations of the postconcussion syndrome are common, with resolution in most patients by 3 to 6 months after the injury. Persistent symptoms and cognitive deficits are present in a distinct minority of patients for additional months or years. Risk factors for persisting sequelae include age over 40 years; lower educational, intellectual, and socioeconomic level; female gender; alcohol abuse; prior head injury; and multiple trauma. Although a small minority are malingerers, frauds, or have compensation neurosis, most patients have genuine complaints. Contrary to a popular perception, most patients with litigation or compensation claims are not cured by a verdict. Treatment is individualized depending on the specific complaints of the patient. Although a variety of medication and psychologic treatments are currently available, ongoing basic and clinical research of all aspects of mild head injury are crucial to provide more efficacious treatment in the future.
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PMID:The postconcussion syndrome and the sequelae of mild head injury. 143 59

We report six previously healthy children who several days after a prodromal illness had an acute encephalopathy that ran a biphasic course. It appears to constitute a recognizable syndrome with a good prognosis that can be differentiated from other encephalopathies of obscure origin as previously defined by Lyon et al. The active phase was dominated by coma or confusion and by abnormal movements, including disordered gesticulation and attacks of orofacial dyskinesia or limb dystonia associated with permanent rigidity and culminating in opisthotonic posturing. Repeated seizures were observed in only two patients. Permanent slow waves were recorded on the electroencephalogram in all patients, even during bursts of abnormal movements. Cerebrospinal fluid and results of serologic studies were normal throughout the course of the disease, and attempts at viral isolation and antiviral antibody detection yielded negative results. Brain imaging either showed no abnormalities or suggested a moderate degree of brain edema. The recovery phase, which extended for several weeks, was characterized by a rapid return of motor function and persistent behavioral and cognitive disturbances. Nonverbal reasoning recovered long before verbal expression returned to normal. Four patients eventually recovered fully, whereas two had mild sequelae.
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PMID:Coma associated with intense bursts of abnormal movements and long-lasting cognitive disturbances: an acute encephalopathy of obscure origin. 144 43

We report here a patient with frequent nocturnal attacks, characterized by paroxysmal dystonic posturing of the left arm and contraction of the lower face, lasting 20-30 seconds. The attacks occurred in clusters of up to 20 spasms during the NREM stage of sleep. Interictal EEG showed clear-cut epileptic discharges in the right frontal region. Repeated ictal video-EEG recordings revealed only arousal pattern immediately before and during seizures except in those which evolved to left sided clonic hemiconvulsions. The dystonic attacks here described share many features of nocturnal paroxysmal dystonia (NPD) of Lugaresi and Cirignotta in common, including nocturnal periodic occurrence, absence of ictal EEG changes during attacks, and favorable response to CBZ, except for their unilateral nature. It was assumed that our case may be a lateralized variant of NPD and would further support the hypothesis that NPD is one particular form of frontal lobe epilepsy.
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PMID:A case with nocturnal paroxysmal unilateral dystonia and interictal right frontal epileptic EEG focus: a lateralized variant of nocturnal paroxysmal dystonia? 149 55

The sex ratio, age at onset, and ictal features of nine patients with nocturnal paroxysmal dystonia were compared with those of eight patients with daytime frontal lobe seizures and eight patients with nocturnal motor attacks of known epileptic origin. All patients underwent video electroencephalography telemetry. There were no clinical features that would allow distinction between the groups and no single phenomenon was uniquely seen in nocturnal paroxysmal dystonia. This study provides no evidence that nocturnal paroxysmal dystonia is a separate diagnostic entity.
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PMID:Is nocturnal paroxysmal dystonia a form of frontal lobe epilepsy? 832 36

We report successful treatment of paroxysmal dystonia (tonic seizures) in three patients with central demyelinating disease (CDD) using acetazolamide alone or in combination with carbamazepine. Acetazolamide is a useful alternative, or an adjunct, to carbamazepine in the treatment of paroxysmal dystonia in CDD.
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PMID:Acetazolamide treatment of paroxysmal dystonia in central demyelinating disease. 156 52

Nocturnal paroxysmal dystonia (NPD) and episodic nocturnal wanderings (ENWs) are complex motor attacks arising abruptly during sleep, especially nonrapid eye movement sleep. NPD is characterized by sudden arousal followed by motor agitation with dystonic posturing, and semipurposeful activity recurring several times per night. When short-lasting, NPD may respond favorably to carbamazepine. ENWs are unusual episodes of ambulation, with unintelligible speech, screaming, and complex, often violent, behavior that responds to anticonvulsants. In both short-lasting NPD and ENWs, electroencephalography may show some evidence of epilepsy; NPD is clinically similar to the frontal lobe seizures that arise mesially or in depth. Paroxysmal arousals (PAs) are even shorter episodes of arousal or awakening during nonrapid eye movement sleep, associated with transient dystonic posturing and related to the short-lasting NPD. PAs, short-lasting NPD, and ENWs probably represent a spectrum of peculiar sleep-related epileptic seizures.
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PMID:Nocturnal paroxysmal dystonia and nocturnal wandering. 163 Jun 41

The clinical spectrum of toxic effects and serum concentrations after ingestion of carbamazepine were studied in 82 pediatric patients. Serum carbamazepine level was related to the depth of coma (p less than 0.001), convulsions (p = 0.002), hypotension (p less than 0.001), and the requirement for mechanical ventilation (p less than 0.001). In 10 patients in deep coma with a Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) of 3-4, the mean serum level was 213 mumol/L (range 143 to 343); seizures, ventilatory failure, or hypotension caused by myocardial failure and conduction defects were observed. In four of these, large doses of inotropic agents were required, one patient was treated with plasmapheresis, and two died--one of cardiac failure and one of aspiration pneumonitis. In 27 patients with moderate coma (GCS 5-8), the mean serum level of carbamazepine was 112 mumol/L (range 63 to 176); convulsions were observed in two patients in this group. In 45 patients whose conscious state was mildly depressed or normal (GCS 9-15), the mean serum level was 73 mumol/L (range 37 to 128); additional effects were drowsiness (80%), ataxia (53%), nystagmus (38%), vomiting (17%), and dystonia (7%). I conclude that patients with serum carbamazepine levels of approximately 100 mumol/L require close observation, whereas those with levels greater than 150 mumol/L may require intensive life support.
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PMID:Acute toxic reaction to carbamazepine: clinical effects and serum concentrations. 164 Mar 2

We analyzed the lateralizing value of ictal dystonia and head-turning in temporal lobe epilepsy, and sought the biologic basis of these clinical signs by studying the regional changes in perfusion with ictal single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). We identified unilateral temporal lobe epilepsy in 40 of 42 patients undergoing evaluation for temporal lobe surgery, and with ictal SPECT all 40 showed striking hyperperfusion of the epileptogenic temporal lobe. Twenty-five of the 40 patients showed unilateral or predominantly unilateral upper limb dystonia, which was opposite the epileptic temporal lobe in all cases. Analysis of regional count ratios in cases with ictal dystonia, compared with those without, showed significant changes only in the basal ganglia. Specifically, we found that ictal dystonia was associated with a relative increase in perfusion of the basal ganglia opposite the dystonic limb. Although we found 26 cases with head-turning, the sign was of no lateralizing value, even when only those with major or "tonic" versions (n = 11) were analyzed. Slight increases in cortical blood flow on the side opposite the direction of version were associated with head-turning, irrespective of the side of seizure focus. In clinical practice, ictal SPECT is a highly accurate aid in the lateralization of temporal lobe foci, in addition to providing a new method to investigate the pathophysiology of clinical signs in focal seizures.
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PMID:Dystonia, clinical lateralization, and regional blood flow changes in temporal lobe seizures. 173 68

Aberrant iron metabolism in the brain is typified by Hallervorden-Spatz syndrome. In this disorder, large amounts of iron are deposited in the globus pallidus and the pars reticulata of the substantia nigra. It is characterized by extrapyramidal dysfunction, as demonstrated by dystonia, rigidity, and choreoathetosis; onset during the first two decades of life; and progression of signs and symptoms. Corroborative findings include corticospinal tract involvement, ie, spasticity and extensor toe signs, progressive intellectual impairment, retinitis pigmentosa and optic atrophy (usually associated visual evoked response and electroretinogram abnormalities), seizures, familial occurrence, hypointense areas in the basal ganglia on magnetic resonance imaging scans (particularly in the substantia nigra), abnormal cytosomes in circulating lymphocytes, and sea-blue histiocytes in bone marrow. Iron function in normal brain metabolism is manifold, but high concentrations of iron in the basal ganglia area may signal a unique relationship. Data support the likelihood that iron plays a role in the modulation of dopamine binding to postsynaptic receptors. In addition, transferrin receptors and iron are also concentrated in oligodendrocytes in normal brain and, thus, may have a function in myelination. A role of iron also seems likely in oxidation and peroxidation reactions involving membranes and DNA, a capability that becomes uncontrolled when protective biologic mechanisms become inadequate.
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PMID:Hallervorden-Spatz syndrome and brain iron metabolism. 184 35

In recent years, a differentiation has been made between two syndromes that are characterized by brief abnormal paroxysmal movements occurring principally at night: 1, hypnogenic paroxysmal dystonia (HPD), sometimes considered a particular form of dystonia similar to paroxysmal kinesigenic choreoathetosis, and 2, mesiofrontal epilepsy. Whether HPD is a distinct syndrome is not clear. Twenty-three patients, 11 men and 12 women, were hospitalized between 1985 and 1989 for examination of this type of abnormal paroxysmal movements (APM) occurring at night. In order to clarify the physiopathology of these abnormal nocturnal movement as focal epilepsy or a particular form of dystonia, we analyzed the personal and familial antecedents of all 23 patients, the polygraphic records during waking and sleep periods, and the results of neuroradiological examinations. Four patients were examined by positron emission tomography (PET) using i8F deoxyglucose. Symptoms first appeared between 3 and 28 years of age (M, 10.1) and developed over 1 to 20 years (M, 10.1). APM clearly occurred more commonly (greater than 90%) during sleep, usually during phases of slow-wave sleep. The sleeping patient opened his eyes and the motor signs then variously associated affective facial expression; axial postural modifications; tonic, dystonic or choreic postural movements of the limbs; pedalling; automatisms; disordered agitation and vocalization. The seizure was abruptly interrupted after 10 to 60 seconds. There was usually no postictal confusion. Thirteen patients clearly had clear epileptic antecedents: in 9, generalized tonic-clonic seizures; in 4, focal epileptic status. During nocturnal polygraphic recording, 6 patients presented a generalized seizure following a period of APM.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:[Postures and abnormal paroxysmal movements during sleep: hypnogenic paroxysmal dystonia or partial epilepsy?]. 190 68


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