Man suffers from seizures following attack while criminals are not dealt with as promised

THE wife of a man left in a coma after he confronted a gang of youths has criticised a drive to encourage have-a-go heroes as `hot-air'.Jean Carroll, whose husband Phil suffered a blood clot to his brain following the attack in May 2005, said politicians promised to act at the time. But nothing has been done.She spoke out after Justice Secretary Jack Straw announced a review of the law to reassure people they can use reasonable force to stop and detain criminals.

Mrs Carroll said: "This needs looking at but they said that two years ago when this happened and still nothing has happened."Her husband spent 18 days in a coma following the attack outside their home in Higher Broughton.Seizures He is back home but still struggles with his health, suffering five seizures last month.A 16-year-old jailed for the attack was freed last year.Jean said: "I have no confidence in politicians at all.

They talk about what they're going to do but nothing gets done at all."Phil had five more seizures in August and each one sets him back. Everything has been taken away, even his job. He's not allowed to drive or go out for a pint, but the scum who did this is back on the streets."

A top Manchester lawyer described Jack Straw's move as `a good bit of politicking'.And a senior police officer in Manchester said: " Anything that encourages people to stand up for what's right is a good thing and is to be applauded. But I'm not sure you can change the law."

Toddler was flown to hospital following seizures

A 2-year-old child was airlifted Thursday after having seizures at a Child Care Network facility on Jet Drive, according to a Fort Walton Beach Fire battalion chief.

The call came in just before 11 a.m. as an unresponsive patient, he said, and a helicopter landed nearby at Fred Hedrick Recreation Center.The helicopter flew both the child and the child's mother to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola.

Seizures can be linked to Autism

Actress Jenny McCarthy is attempting to raise public awareness about autism through a new book discussing how she is raising her son, who suffers from the developmental disorder.

"I'm really willing to go the distance to kind of spread the word and really share my emotions on the issue, because it's so close to home," McCarthy told CTV's Canada AM.

"Louder Than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism" is McCarthy's fourth book. In the book, McCarthy talks about how people in public are unsure how to react to a child with autism because they may have temper tantrums.

"You kind of have to let them have their outburst," McCarthy said, "and a parent might look at you and go 'God, you're a bad parent. You don't know how to tame your child.' And you want to go -- 'It's not my fault.'"

McCarthy's motherly instincts about her son's autism were raised when he began to have seizures. One of the seizures led to her son having a cardiac arrest.

One day before her son was formally diagnosed with autism, McCarthy appeared on the 'Live with Regis and Kelly' talk show.

She was promoting her third book "Baby Laughs," which described how happy and healthy her son was.

"All I wanted to do was cry and I had to pick myself up and stay strong to get through it because I had to sell a book," McCarthy said. "I had to pay for autism when I got home. And that was really one of the most difficult times of my life."

A turning point came after McCarthy began experimenting with a diet free of gluten, wheat and dairy products for her son. The diet had helped some other autistic children, she discovered after conducting research online. McCarthy noticed progress was being made when she was watching television with her son.

"SpongeBob SquarePants" did not usually connect with her son Evan, but when he laughed at something "very abstract and funny" while watching it, McCarthy said she knew it was important.
"That was my big moment ... I call it kind of opening the window and pulling him out of the world of autism," McCarthy said.

McCarthy noticed that her son's eye contact and vocabulary noticeably improved within weeks as a result of being on the diet.

"I got my degree in the University of Google because everything on there is how I helped Evan," McCarthy said.

Looking after her son has also become easier for McCarthy with the help of her new love, Canadian comic actor Jim Carrey.

McCarthy has said that Carrey has connected with her son in areas that she was not succesful.
Recently, McCarthy called Carrey the "autism whisperer" because of the positive effect he has had on her son.

"He really has done wonders with Evan and I love him to pieces and I'm very lucky," McCarthy said.

Seizures are not always explained

THE doctor who opened up Edinburgh's first dedicated seizure clinic has said unexplained "one-off" blackouts are a "frustratingly common" occurrence.

Dr Richard Davenport, a consultant neurologist in Edinburgh, set up the First Seizure clinic five years ago, to help give people who have suffered an unexplained seizure a quick diagnosis.
Last year, the clinic dealt with over 400 patients.While some of the seizures are an early warning of more serious diseases, such as epilepsy, Dr Davenport admitted most were never fully explained.

He said: "Most patients prove not to have had a seizure, and the commonest diagnosis is fainting of one sort or another.

"Sometimes they will develop further symptoms leading to a diagnosis, but 'one off' blackouts of no clear cause are frustratingly common."

Good "News" for the visually impaired in Kansas!

Today blind and visually impaired Kansas residents will be able to enjoy over 255 newspapers, including two local Kansas newspapers and the Kansas City Star, through a service called NFB-NEWSLINE(R). The service makes content from participating newspapers and magazines accessible on-demand by touch-tone phone and electronic delivery twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Personalized TV listings and both national and state hourly updates from Associated Press and United Press International are also included.

Offered in forty-one other states and the District of Columbia, NFB-NEWSLINE(R) is now available in Kansas through the Talking Book Service, State Library of Kansas. State Librarian Christie Brandau said, "The focus of the Talking Books program at the State Library of Kansas is providing outstanding service to our customers. We are pleased that NFB-NEWSLINE(R) is the newest service available statewide to visually impaired Kansans."

The NFB-NEWSLINE(R) system reformats the digital transmissions of participating newspapers and converts them to synthetic speech. The available newspapers include the Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, USA Today, Christian Science Monitor, and the New York Times among many others, including five Spanish-language newspapers and varied magazines. The Wichita Eagle and the Hutchinson News are currently on the service and another Kansas newspaper will be added in the near future.

"The daily newspaper remains unparalleled as an information source for all individuals, enhancing their lives as professionals, students, parents, and community members," said Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind. Subscribers are given an access code and then call a toll-free or local number to enter the NFB-NEWSLINE(R) system.

They can browse the papers, choosing or skipping articles as they wish. The system reads each article aloud. The menu allows the user to change the speed and voice and to search for a particular word or subject. "I have recently gotten to try NFB-NEWSLINE(R) and have appreciated very much the ability to access national newspapers! For many Kansans this will be the first chance they have had to access any newspaper without a human reader," said Tom Page, second vice-president of the National Federation of the Blind of Kansas.

All individuals who are physically unable to read print are eligible to subscribe free of charge to NFB-NEWSLINE(R). To subscribe or to request more information to NFB-NEWSLINE(R), contact the Talking Book Service at (800) 362-0699. For further information, call the National Federation of the Blind at (866) 504-7300, or visit them online at http://www.nfbnewsline.org/.

Similarities between migraines, seizures and brain tumors

The television series, House is widely enjoyed by millions of viewers all over the world. The concept of the show revolves around a brilliant diagnostician and his team of doctors who try to determine the illness of their patients to be able to provide the appropriate treatment. The method they utilize to uncover the mysteries of the patient's condition is called differential diagnosis. In the field of medicine and health, conducting a differential diagnosis is very necessary since several illnesses may display similar symptoms.

A differential diagnosis is therefore done by observing the various symptoms manifested by a patient; doing different types of medical examinations; and by interviewing the patient or his family regarding personal, medical and social histories. The main goal, therefore, of having a differential diagnosis is to avoid medical malpractice and to provide quality treatments for patients.

As mentioned earlier, several medical problems or illnesses may show similar symptoms or manifestations. This makes it more difficult for people and even physicians to identify treatment that should be provided. Such can be the case in conditions such as migraines, brain tumors, and seizure disorders.

Among persons who suffer from migraine, it is of great importance to be knowledgeable of the causes and symptoms of this particular condition in relation to other illnesses such as brain tumors and seizure disorders that exhibit similar symptoms. Knowing the differences among the said medical conditions will help people to better understand and appreciate migraine remedies.

The main similarity between migraines, brain tumors and seizures is that all of these conditions affect the neurological system. These conditions should be given proper attention since these ailments affect the brain.

Common manifestations or symptoms of migraines, brain tumors and seizures include: headache, aura, nausea, vomiting, problems with vision, weakness, changes in mood or behavior and negative reactions towards certain sensations (sight, hearing, smell, movement).

Migraine headaches may, therefore, also be a result of abnormal electro-physiologic synchronization which occurs in seizures or maybe because of a damage in a particular tissue in the brain due to tumors. To identify the root of the problem is to determine the possible causes.

A situation similar to this is when a child manifests a difficulty in repeating words which can be a result of either difficulty in hearing, difficulty in moving the parts involved in talking or difficulty in understanding or processing the instruction which is to repeat the words.

Migraine is said to be caused by a possible disorder in the serotonergic control system. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter in the brain which regulates emotions such as anger and aggression, mood, appetite, sexuality and vomiting. Another cause of migraines can be attributed to the exposure to or withdrawal of certain “triggers” which can be environmental, chemical, hormonal or behavioral.

On the other hand, seizures are caused by abnormal electric activity in a group of brain cells. Causes of brain tumors are still undetermined. However, some studies show that a higher predominance of this condition is observed among those whose work include making contact with or exposure to high-chemical content substances. Just by observation, the differences among the three conditions cannot be easily determined. This is the reason why medical tests or evaluations are needed to be further done in the hope of acquiring more evidences that would lead or point to a certain condition.

Among the tests that can be done are magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), CT scan and electroencephalography (EEG). Conducting MRI and CT scan will show any abnormal cell growth within the brain while EEG recordings will determine unusual electrical activity in the brain. Any anomalies observed among the tests mentioned can rule out that the headaches due to migraine alone. However, when results of those tests indicate normal activity or conditions, conclusions still cannot be made. Further observation of the symptoms manifested needs to be done.

Though a lot of symptoms among migraines, brain tumors and seizures are similar, there are also certain differences which can be a main lead during differential diagnosis. Experiences of seeing auras usually occur only among those who have migraines and seizures. People with brain tumors do not usually have this.

Existence of aura, therefore, can possibly rule out having brain tumors. Also, unlike symptoms of migraines and seizures which are episodic, symptoms of brain tumors happen more consistently. Symptoms of migraine such as headaches or feeling of nausea usually last from three hours to several days while those of seizures are usually of shorter duration only. Thus, suspicion of possible migraine condition can be more strongly supported when the symptoms remain for a long time.

Differential diagnosis, however, though recommended to be understood and applied by common people, are more valid when done by certain professionals such as doctors. Upon arriving to a certain conclusion, they are also the ones who can effectively prescribe the appropriate medication, remedy or management for the condition. In some instances, there is an overlap between the medications of seizures and migraine remedies. Among these are depakene, depakote topiramate and topamax.

However, certain treatment only react effectively to the corresponding illness that they are made for. Also, aside from having no curative effects at all on the condition, taking the wrong medication could even worsen the problem. Thus, a thorough investigation of the situation should really be done to conduct a highly evidence-supported differential diagnosis and, as a result, allow doctors to identify the appropriate treatment.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/migraine-brain-tumor-and-seizure-a-differential-diagnosis-212727.html

Student received help on the but while having seizures

When a Tippecanoe Valley student had a seizure on the school bus recently, her bus driver and schoolmates acted quickly to help her through it.At approximately 3:15 p.m. Aug. 31, Deb Howard, Rochester, was transporting Valley high school students toward Mentone to pick up the elementary school students. "I was driving down 19, heading toward Mentone," Howard said in a Thursday afternoon interview. The bus was loaded with about 20-25 students.

All of a sudden, a bunch of the students started yelling to Howard that something was wrong with a student. Student Seth Mathias, Howard said, was the first student to recognize that the student was having seizures. Howard, knowing the student was prone to having seizures, pulled into a driveway at the little woods near CRs 600 and 500.

Stopping there, she called the bus garage and let them know a student was having seizures and where the bus was stopped. Howard went back to the students to help the student having seizures. At first, Howard had the student with seizures lay down, but then the student looked like she was going to throw up. Howard had the student sit upright, with other students, including her daughter Aimee and junior Jenny Shortz, holding her up.

While Howard was in the back, senior Greg Snelling got on the bus radio. Snelling said he told the bus garage what was going on, and was told to have Howard drive the bus on to Mentone. A nurse would be waiting at Mentone for the student. Howard went back to her driver's seat and continued the bus on to Mentone while Aimee, Snelling and Shortz took care of the student with seizures."The kids on my bus worked really well together," said Howard. Snelling said during the ride back to Mentone, the students not assisting with the student with seizures sat in the front of the bus to give the student room. The student had a cell phone, but dropped it during her seizure.

Shortz picked up the telephone and attempted to call the student's mom. Not able to find a telephone number, Shortz called the student's sister instead. The sister then was able to call her mother. "It was just a matter of minutes, actually," said Howard of the 10-minute ordeal. By the time the bus got back to Mentone, the student started coming out of her seizures. Aimee went into the school to find the nurse, while Howard, Snelling and Shortz remained on the bus to help the student.

Some of the older students worked with Mentone teachers to corral the elementary school kids while they waited for the bus to be able to take them home. During the ordeal, Snelling said, "I was just kind of keeping it together, just kind of relaxed, trying to keep everyone calm." Shortz said she was panicking in her head, but she tried to remain calm. Her niece has had seizures, she said, but she said she still panicked a little bit. Howard said Shortz did just fine.Snelling said he's seen someone have seizures before, but never first-hand.

"This would be my first on a bus," Howard said. The student is doing fine now, Shortz said. "I think that on a bus that has students, and you know a student is like this, you should have a contingency plan," Howard said. She said older students who ride the bus regularly could help the bus drivers in certain situations. For being a surprise situation, Howard said the students on her bus Aug. 31 were a big help. She said, "I'm very proud of the students. They were very mature and dealt with it well."

The use of Paxil can cause seizures during pregnancy

When Tammy Smithey learned she was pregnant in the fall of 2004, she called her ob-gyn to ensure that Paxil was safe for her to continue taking. Smithey had been on Paxil for a few years, but was concerned that it might have negative effects on her baby. Her ob-gyn told her that Paxil was okay to take while pregnant. On her first visit to the doctor, Smithey again asked whether or not she should be taking Paxil.

Again she was told that Paxil was okay to take while pregnant. So she continued taking it and did so throughout her pregnancy.Smithey says she was concerned because she did not gain any weight while she was pregnant, but other than that things seemed to be okay. The doctors had not raised any concerns about her taking Paxil, so she thought she was safe. However, when she went into labor, Smithey realized that something was very wrong. Initially, Smithey had to walk around in order to dilate. But she was in a lot of pain.

"It hurt a lot," Smithey says. "And I was bleeding." More problems arose as the labor developed. The baby's heart rate dropped when Smithey pushed, so Smithey was given oxygen. But the baby, a girl, was delivered pale and not breathing. She required immediate resuscitation and was taken out of the room immediately. "There was a problem with placenta after-birth separation," Smithey says. "Basically, it poisoned her." MaKenzie, the baby girl, was flown to Birmingham, where she would remain for 22 days.

"I couldn't even hold my baby for five days after she was born," Smithey recalls. "MaKenzie was kept on a coolant blanket while doctors checked her for brain damage." After three days MaKenzie was warmed up, but as that happened she started to experience seizures. MaKenzie was put on feeding tubes and given medication for her seizures.

She also had a ventricular septal defect, a hole in the wall that separates the heart's right and left ventricles, that needed to close up. After four months, MaKenzie, who is now two years old, was taken off her seizure medication because doctors felt the seizures were under control. However, a month ago MaKenzie developed a high fever and had another seizure.

Although doctors say the seizure was caused by the fever, Smithey says she's always on the lookout for more seizures.Smithey says that MaKenzie has been slower to develop than other children. "It was 21 months before she was walking," Smithey notes. "She was slow to sit and stand. Even now she's very wobbly when standing. She's also talking slowly for her age." Smithey says that the left side of MaKenzie's brain is slow because of possible damage to her right brain.

It was not until she saw commercials about Paxil that Smithey fully understood what had happened with MaKenzie. "The commercials said it messes with the placenta, and that's what happened to me," Smithey says, referring to her placental/after-birth separation.The whole family has been affected by MaKenzie's ordeal.

"My other daughter was 11 when MaKenzie was born," Smithey says. "She was in the delivery room for the birth. It was very upsetting for her to not know what was going to happen."For her part, Smithey wants to warn women not to take Paxil while pregnant. She says that the damage caused by Paxil outweighs the benefits.

And she holds the makers of Paxil accountable for what happened. "The makers of Paxil need to let doctors know more about its risks," Smithey says. For now, MaKenzie is only taking allergy medications while her family waits and sees what happens next. Smithey will continue to watch MaKenzie carefully for any signs that something is not right. While they do not want to limit MaKenzie in any way, the family is concerned about any problems that might arise as MaKenzie grows.

Paxil Heart Defects Legal HelpIf your baby was born with heart defects, and the mother took Paxil while pregnant, please contact a lawyer involved in a possible [Paxil Lawsuit] who will review your case at no cost or obligation.

Seizures took over a child's life!

Since she was born Meaghann Muncy, 15, Dillsboro, has been in and out of the hospital. Those trips are at an end.Meaghann died Monday, Sept. 10, after years of fighting for her life.She was born to Sandy and Vernon Muncy Aug. 19, 1992, with a rare congenital brain abnormality, hemimegalecephaly, which causes the right half of her brain to be abnormally large and malformed.

Meaghann's malformed brain cause multiple and severe seizures.In 2004, she underwent a risky and rare surgery to remove the malformed hemisphere of her brain in hopes of halting the seizures.But the seizures didn't stop. While she never had friends in terms of other teenagers, she had many people praying for her and her older siblings supporting her and loving her.Her mother, Sandy, is a tireless advocate for special education, and works for IN*Source, a state resource agency for people with disabilities.

Meaghann never knew what she was missing, "we felt it more than she did," said Sandy Muncy.Meaghann has been in Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center's intensive care since Thursday, Sept. 6. She was fighting to the end, breathing over the top of the ventilator, heart still pumping, but all signs pointed to a different journey home than her parents'. She was heavily medicated, but was still having massive seizures.

"For years we've wondered if a trip to the hospital would be the last trip," said Sandy Muncy.Now that time has come, and her family wants Meaghann's life to be celebrated. Even as she lay in her ICU room she was fighting, and her parents made the difficult decision to remove her breathing tube Monday, Sept. 10."I told her a long time ago 'no retreat, no defeat,' I guess she's still taking me seriously," said Sandy.So many times Meaghann has hovered near death, but fought back. This was the last fight, however, and "I hope her life has meant something," said Sandy.

Through the years many people have supported the family, and the family invites people to send them happy stories and memories. Comments and stories can be posted on www.registerreverb.com."We were lucky to have had her, and are blessed to have Meg be a part of our lives," said her mother.

As Meaghann died she was surrounded by family, friends and hospital staff. As word spread in the hospital many people have come to see Meghann. Her sister, Auberne, and brother, Zachary, were at her bedside.Auberne was slated to leave for London, England, to attend grad school. That has been temporarily postponed. Her brother Zach graduated from South Dearborn High School in June and is a student at Cincinnati State studying culinary arts.The Muncys are planning a celebration for Meghann.

"I don't want gloom and doom. She has done things she was never supposed to do." She has lived longer and achieved more than many children, said her mother.Life will go on, and Sandy Muncy will put one foot in front of the other, and find a new path without her youngest child."I don't know what I'm going to do. I've been Meaghann's mom for so long," she said.

Funeral services Meaghann Mariah Muncy,15, Dillsboro, will be at 11 a.m. Friday, Sept. 14, at Rullman Hunger Denney Funeral Home, Aurora, with burial in Riverview Cemetery, Aurora. Visitation will be from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 13, at the funeral home. There will be a meal gathering of friends and family following the graveside sevice at Church of Christ Dillsboro, Indiana.

She is survived by her parents, Vernon and Sandy Muncy of Dillsboro; a brother, Zachary Muncy, Dillsboro; a sister, Auberne Muncy, Dillsboro; paternal grandparents, Arville and Patricia Muncy, Lawrenceburg; paternal great-grandmother, Minnie Bell Muncy, Cincinnati.Memorials may be made to Epilepsy Council of Cincinnati or Special Kids Informed Parents. Call 1-812-926-1450 for the family to be notified of your donation with a card.

Seizures: Doctors test new device!

DALLAS Epileptic seizures can leave sufferers completely helpless, making them unable to drive, work or even sleep.But a device being tested in North Texas could stop seizures before they strike.Jason Wright's life changed forever when he was 19."I was riding a four-wheeler without a helmet, and I dropped on top of my head," he said.

"I had a closed head injury."He suffered scar tissue on both sides of his brain, leaving him with epilepsy."His memory was bad," said Wright's mother, Barbara Whitaker. She said he would wake up "after falling down on the floor, not knowing where he is, not being able to orient himself to his surroundings."Medicine and surgery didn't work.

But when U. T. Southwestern asked him to try an experimental device that could help, he jumped at the chance.Doctors implanted a NeuroPace in his brain.The device constantly measures brain waves and sends the data to a computer.Doctors say the NeuroPace not only detects a coming seizure, it can stop one before it happens.Dr. Mark Agostini, a UTSW neurologist, says the device works by "stimulating [the brian] with enough electricity, almost like a missile fired against a missile, to stop the seizure."

Wright says he is happy with the results so far."I was having three to four, five, maybe six grand mal seizures a day," he said. "I haven't recorded one grand mal since this was put in. They've all been minor seizures. And some days, I haven't even recorded minor seizures."Doctors say information recorded by the NeuroPace allows them to compare brain activity before, during and after a seizure.They hope to use the data to better understand and treat epilepsy.

Angel suffering from seizures may face a shorter life!

As a social worker at Children's Mercy hospital in Kansas City, Amy Dublinske of Lee's Summit had never heard of tuberous sclerosis until her youngest child was born.Yet, the disease is as common as Lou Gehrig's disease, muscular dystrophy and cystic fibrosis.When Amy went in for her ultrasound at 32 weeks, the doctors found that her baby's heart was covered with tumors. It was then that they knew something was very wrong.

After the ultrasound, Amy and her baby were monitored every week until the doctors induced labor in May 2005. It was then that newborn Kierstin Dublinske was diagnosed with TS.According to the Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance, TS is a genetic disorder that causes tumors to form in various organs, primarily the brain, eyes, heart, skin, kidneys, liver and lungs.Kierstin, now 2 years old, has more than 30 tumors in her brain, 20 in her heart, a couple in her kidneys and several in her eyes.
The doctors concluded that the tumors in her heart were stable, those in her kidneys have yet to affect her, and the tumors in her eyes cause her to wear glasses.But it is the more than 30 tumors in her brain that her parents and doctors are most worried about.Kierstin has suffered from seizures as a result of the brain tumors - as many as 50 a day, Amy said.

In her short life Kierstin has suffered from four status seizures - which are life threatening and caused her to stop breathing - been hospitalized 10 times and endured two invasive brain surgeries.When Kierstin had brain surgery in September 2006, the doctors removed a tennis ball-sized tumor from her right frontal lobe, Amy said.Before the surgery at 16 months old, Kierstin had trouble even pulling her body up.

"After the surgery it was like a miracle," Amy said. "The tumor had such a major impact on her abilities."Amy said having so many seizures made it difficult for Kierstin to develop mentally, but since the surgery the seizures are less frequent."We still do have issues and some seizures, but it's nothing compared to before the surgery," Amy said.

Now, a big concern for Amy and her husband, Neil Dublinske, is Kierstin's lack of verbal ability.But Amy said developmental delays are common in children with TS."The brain doesn't function like a normal brain would," she said. "Because of the tumors, a brain in a child with TS is all discombobulated. Nothing is where you would expect it to be."

Kierstin attends the Therapeutic Learning Center in Kansas City three days a week in hopes of developing some of her verbal skills. But, Amy said there is no way to determine if Kierstin will be verbal at all."We don't know what her future will hold," Amy said. "But now our biggest concern is her speech."Most of Kierstin's 30 brain tumors are growing slowly, but Kierstin has two SEGA tumors, which grow on the ventricles of her brain and cause fluid to build up inside her brain. These the Dublinskes must monitor closely because they "could quickly become fatal," Amy said.

As for the many tumors on Kierstin's other organs, they for the most part, are not as severe. However, Amy said the tumors in Kierstin's kidneys could cause problems as she gets older."We've been so overwhelmed with all the stuff that goes on in her brain that we have not been able to focus yet on the kidneys," Amy said. "You just have to take it one step at a time."There is no cure for TS, but Amy said she hopes raising awareness for the disease will make an impact on the research for a cure.

"We've just made it our mission to try to find a cure so other families don't have to go through what we've been through," Amy said.On Saturday, Sept. 8, the Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance of Greater Kansas City is hosting Step Forward to a Cure, a two-mile walkathon to raise funds and awareness for TS.Registration for the walk begins at 9 a.m. and the walk begins at 10 a.m. at Shawnee Mission Park in Shawnee Mission, Kan.

For more information about the walk or TS, visit www.stepforwardtocuretsc.org.

Silent seizures and Alzheimer's disease

Scientists say mice genetically altered to develop an Alzheimer's-like illness undergo "silent" brain seizures.

According to researchers at the Baylor College of Medicine, the seizures may explain why some people with advanced Alzheimer's have "spells" of increased confusion. The seizures observed in the mice would not be recognizable in the same way a convulsion or epileptic seizure can be noticed.

These subtle seizures may be linked to cellular changes caused by high brain levels of the Alzheimer's-linked amyloid beta protein.

Understanding the process behind the seizures may lead to treatments that can prevent or even reverse the progression of the disease, the researchers said in the September issue ofNeuron.
The research team recorded electrical brain waves in the hippocampus, deep in the mice's brains. The hippocampus is a brain area associated with memory.

"This discovery has helped identify a new and potentially reversible neural mechanism that can explain the episodes of sudden severe confusion found in cases of advanced Alzheimer's disease," Dr. Jeffrey Noebels, director of the Bluebird Circle Developmental Neurogenetics Laboratory at Baylor College of Medicine, said in a prepared statement. "The cellular changes that give rise to this hyperexcitability appear slowly as the disease progresses, and, at a certain point, the brain networks actually become hyperexcitable, despite the loss of synapses and brain cells in this brain region. Further study may point to early treatment that might prevent these electrical brain spells, as well as slow down the progression of this debilitating disease."

Prior to this research, spells of increased confusion were thought to be a result of degenerating nerve cells. According to the researchers, the study indicated that they may result from excess amyloid beta and could signal future cognitive failure. Amyloid beta is a toxic protein fragment found in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease and similar disorders.

Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia. More than 5 million Americans are living with the disease, which is characterized by a progressive loss of memory and cognitive function. There is no known cure for the disease.

More information

For more about Alzheimer's disease, visit the Alzheimer's Association.

SOURCE: Baylor College of Medicine, news release, Sept. 5, 2007

Certain foods can cause seizures

One more week about cats and I bet you are surprised. Do you want to keep potential problem-causing foods out of your kitty’s reach? Your cat has naturally discriminating taste buds and you’ll find it’s much easier to keep dangerous foods away from it than those people like me who love dogs. Cats aren’t likely to knock over the garbage can and chow down on yesterday’s coffee grounds, or gobble up all the chocolates in the box when you’re not looking.

Dogs will usually eat anything that stands still, but cats demand freshness and savory flavor in everything they eat.According to the American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals here are some foods to avoid when feeding your cats. Avocadoes can result in respiratory distress and the accumulation of fluid around the heart.

Alcoholic beverages can cause gastrointestinal irritation , drunkenness, tremors, difficult breathing and/or panting, coma, and even death. Chocolate in all forms can be potentially poisonous depending on the amount eaten. Symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea, seizures, hyperactivity and increased thirst, urination, and changes in heart rate. Coffee, including the grounds and beans, can cause the same symptoms as chocolate.

Moldy or spoiled food may contain molds that can result in GI irritation, tremors, seizures, and death. Spoiled food may also contain bacteria that can cause severe food poisoning. Onions, garlic, and chives can lead to GI upset and damaged red blood cells. Salt and salty foods can result in sodium ion poisoning, symptoms of which include regurgitation, tremors, excess thirst, diarrhea, high temperature, and seizures.

If enough salt is consumed, death can also result. The ripe red fruit of the tomato is not a potential problem, but the leaves, stem and unripe fruit are. Ingestion of these can cause GI upset, excess salivation, drowsiness, dilated pupils, and weakness. The same symptoms can be seen with the ingestion of any green plant parts of the potato.

Yeast dough can be double trouble. As it rises, the dough can expand the GI tract, possibly causing the intestine to rupture. The yeast can also form alcohol as it rises, which can lead to alcohol poisoning.If you are wondering about milk and other dairy products, here’s what the ASPCA says. A lot of pet owners have a tendency to give their cats saucers of milk and in actuality, many felines are lactose-intolerant.

The inability to break down lactose can result in stomach upset, cramps, and gassiness. If your kitty is crazy for cream or milk and if it doesn’t cause problems, a small amount once or twice a week should be fine.Certain table scraps are fine in moderation, but limit the selection to foods such as rice, small bits of string cheese, well-cooked hamburger, and skinless chicken breast. If your kitty has a bout of vomiting after you’ve given it one of these snacks, it’s best to avoid it in the future. An absolute no-no is poultry bones.

They can splinter and cause digestive blockages and damage to the teeth and mouth. Fatty meats and spicy foods are not known to be potentially toxic to cats, but they may cause stomach upset.If you have questions about what type of food your cat needs, it’s always best to talk to your veterinarian. During your discussion about food, it would be a great idea to make an appointment for vaccinations to protect your kitty and that all-important spay or neuter. We all know that spaying or neutering for your pet can help eliminate pet overpopulation.

Seizures cause tragedy for newlyweds!

A Young bridegroom has died suddenly just a month after his wedding to his long-time sweetheart.Tragic Bastiaan Ree suffered a seizure in his sleep.The former bus driver passed away days later with his heartbroken new wife, Shelagh, at his bedside.The couple should have been leaving for their dream honeymoon in Egypt on September 10.

Fighting tears, the 25-year-old widow said: " I can't bring myself to cancel it yet. We had been looking forward to the wedding and the honeymoon so long."But at least Bas lived long enough for the wedding, which was perfect from start to finish."After being together for nine years, the couple's great day was at Craigiebuckler Church on July 27.

Then around 100 guests celebrated with them in the Marcliffe at Pitfodels.Bastiaan's funeral service will be at the same church on Wednesday with the mourners gathering afterwards in the same hotel they toasted the newly weds.After the wedding, the couple enjoyed a mini honeymoon on their beloved West Coast of Scotland, staying at Lochinven, before returning to their home in Aberdeen's Mounthooly.

Shelagh said: "About four years ago Bas began to suffer seizures."He was diagnosed with a tumour. It turned out to be benign. However, they could not operate."But he was very positive and we realised he would just have to learn to live with it and the occasional seizures."She added: "I'm just totally numb. I can't believe he's gone. Everybody loved Bas. He was so funny."He loved films and vintage cars. He was always smiling and loved life. A lovely, lovely man."Bastiaan worked for Mair's Coaches, First and Arnold Clark.

Toddler suffered from seizures following ingestion of drug

A nurse and her firefighter boyfriend were arrested after the woman's 2-year-old daughter ingested the couple's Ecstasy and went into a hallucinogenic fit.

Shannon K. Leasure, 30, and Mark A. Rumble, 46, vacationing at the lake from Reno, Nev., were booked for investigation of child endangerment and remained in custody with bail set at $500,000 each.

"You just would not expect that from people who are at that station in life," said Sgt. Richard Ells of the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.

Leasure brought the party drug along on their vacation to the San Bernardino Mountains, investigators said. It wasn't clear where the Ecstasy was stored, how the girl got into it or how much she swallowed, Ells said.

After ingesting the drug, the girl suffered hallucinations and seizures. Firefighters were called to the vacation home and the girl was taken to Mountains Community Hospital, then airlifted to Loma Linda University Medical Center.

The girl's condition wasn't life threatening, the sergeant said.

Ecstasy is a mildly psychedelic derivative of amphetamine. Ingestion of the drug can cause increased body temperature, seizures from increased central nervous system activity, and muscle damage, when a lack of fluids causes muscles to break down, San Bernardino County Health Officer Margaret M. Beed said.

In extreme cases, Ecstasy use can lead to kidney failure and cardiac arrhythmia, Beed said.

Aura and seizures vs. surgery

If patients experience different types of auras during a seizure, their epilepsy may arise from a single region of the brain, making them good candidates for surgery, researchers here said.

Explain to patients that having more than one type of aura during a seizure may indicate where seizures occur in the brain and what kind of treatment may be appropriate, such as surgery.
In a retrospective study, 90% of patients who reported more than one type of aura and all of those with at least three aura types had epilepsy localized in the nondominant hemisphere of their brain, reported Prakash Kotagal, M.D., of the Cleveland Clinic, and colleagues in the Aug. 21 issue of Neurology.

Although getting patients to explain their auras precisely can be difficult and time consuming, the importance of the symptoms should not be underestimated, the researchers said.

"From clinical experience, the patient may report the feeling of a rising epigastric sensation with a simultaneous unpleasant olfactory odor or may have the same epigastric sensation followed later in the seizure by a visual hemifield distortion," they wrote.

Such multiple auras "should be recognized as a significant finding during history-taking and video-EEG [electroencephalogram] recordings," they said.

Studies have been done linking single auras to the lateralization or the localization of seizures in the brain. But, multiple auras have received little attention, Dr. Kotagal and colleagues said.

They searched the Cleveland Clinic's epilepsy database for patients with more than one aura type -- abdominal, auditory, autonomic, gustatory, olfactory, psychic (such as fear or déjà vu), somatosensory, or visual -- occurring from 1989 through 2005.

They found only 31 patients (0.4% of 7,618 evaluations) who had experienced multiple auras during a seizure monitored using video-EEG evaluation. The median age of those with multiple auras was 34.6; 41% were women.

The low prevalence of multiple auras in the study compared with older studies (22% to 48%) may have been because of different definitions of aura, restriction of analyses to auras recorded in the monitoring unit, and other factors, the researchers said.

The patients reported 223 auras in total, of which 72 were followed by clinical seizures. Most of the patients (21) had sequential rather than simultaneous auras.

Monitoring unit reports together with bedside patient interviews identified the auras as being abdominal (61%), psychic (61%), somatosensory (35%), autonomic (26%), visual (23%), olfactory (19%), auditory (13%), and gustatory (13%).

All patients had epilepsy localized to the temporal or posterior brain regions, although most patients did not have a specific correlation between aura types and lobar localization.

Overall, 90% of the patients with more than one type of aura and 100% of those with at least three aura types had seizures originating in the nondominant right hemisphere of their brain.

The same was true for cases in which multiple auras were reported but did not develop into a clinical seizure. EEG monitoring of epileptic brain activity showed that these electrical discharges, when present, did not spread beyond the hemisphere of origin.

The patients had just one region that generated seizures rather than multiple onset zones, the investigators noted.

Of six patients who had subdural EEG recordings, five showed sequential auras. One had multiple onset zones that gave rise to separate isolated auras.

"The lack of spread to the contralateral limbic or language areas may permit the experience, expression, and memory of the seizures' march through symptomatogenic zones in the temporal and posterior brain regions," the researchers wrote.

Indeed, EEG monitoring showed that discharges did not spread beyond the lobe where clinical seizures originated for six of 11 patients who remained aware during their seizure, whereas they did spread in all seven patients who lost awareness.

Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging in six patients during typical right-sided seizures with multiple auras showed no activation of brainstem structures involved with maintenance of consciousness.

"A common mechanism for multiple auras may be a spreading but restricted EEG seizure activating sequential symptomatogenic zones, but without the ictal activation of deeper structures or contralateral spread to cause loss of awareness and amnesia for the auras," the researchers suggested.

Among the 31 patients with multiple auras, 19 had resective epilepsy surgery, 10 of whom stopped having clinical seizures (53%). Three patients had complex partial or secondarily generalized seizures after surgery.

"Patients with multiple auras are good candidates for epilepsy surgery," the researchers concluded.

However, they noted that the retrospective study may have been limited by the patients' ability to report auras, which depends on their awareness during seizures, their age, and their intellectual level, and by the skill of the interviewer eliciting aura symptoms.

Things you didn't know about seizures!

1In the news: U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts who experienced a seizure in July, is among 2.5 million Americans who suffer from the disorder. Seizures can have many causes, including medicine, high fevers, head injuries and medical conditions, such as low blood sugar, drug use and alcohol withdrawal.

2What they're like: Many seizures cause loss of consciousness with twitching or shaking of the body. Some consist of staring spells, says the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Most seizures last 30 seconds to two minutes and do not cause lasting harm.

3What to do: Most seizures stop by themselves, but a person having one could be injured; breathe food, fluid, or vomit into the lungs; or not get enough oxygen. Turn the person on their side, so he or she can't choke on vomit. Don't restrain the person or put anything between the teeth during a seizure, according to the Nemours Foundation.

4Afterward: After a convulsion, most people go into a deep sleep. Don't prevent the person from sleeping. Monitor the person's pulse, rate of breathing, and blood pressure. (If the seizure lasts more than five minutes, it could be a life-threatening condition, such as stroke or meningitis.)

5Prevention: Medications are often prescribed. People with uncontrolled seizures shouldn't drive, swim or bike alone.