Hostname: page-component-7f64f4797f-42qgm Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-11-09T18:26:45.197Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Managing severe epilepsy in the community

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Stephen W. Brown
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The term ‘epilepsy’ refers to a tendency to have recurrent seizures. Epileptic seizures arise from an imbalance of excitatory and inhibitory cerebral neurotransmitters associated with sudden, paroxysmal, synchronous and repetitive discharges of neurones. All normal brains have the capability to have seizures. Epileptic seizures arise where there is lowering of the naturally occurring seizure threshold. Excitotoxins such as glutamate released in the brain during seizures can cause irreversible cell damage. Young children are especially vulnerable. Prolonged seizures (greater than 30 minutes) in children correlate with subsequent learning disability.

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Advances in Psychiatric Treatment , Volume 4 , Issue 6 , November 1998 , pp. 345 - 355
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 1998 

References

Anzola, G. P. (1993) Predictivity of plasma prolactin levels in differentiating epilepsy from pseudoseizures: a prospective study. Epilepsia, 34, 1044–1048.Google Scholar
Appleton, R. E. & Sweeney, A. (1995) The management of epilepsy in children: the role of the clinical nurse specialist. Seizure, 4, 287–291.Google Scholar
Brown, S. W. (1993) Management issues in treating adults with lamotrigine – II. In Lamotrigine – A New Advance in the Treatment of Epilepsy: Royal Society of Medicine International Congress and Symposium Series No. 204 (ed. Reynolds, E. H.) pp. 95–100. London: Royal Society of Medicine.Google Scholar
Brown, S. W., Betts, T., Chadwick, D. et al (1993) An epilepsy needs document. Seizure, 2, 91–103.Google Scholar
Cassidy, G. & Corbett, J. (1997) Learning disorders. In Epilepsy: A Comprehensive Textbook (ed. Engel, J. Jnr & Pedley, T.) pp. 2053–2063. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott-Raven.Google Scholar
Collins, W. C., Lanigan, O. & Callaghan, N. (1983) Plasma prolactin concentrations following epileptic and pseudoseizures. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, 46, 505–508.Google Scholar
Dahl, J. (1992) Epilepsy: A Behaviour Medicine Approach to the Assessment and Treatment in Children. A Handbook for Professionals Working with Epilepsy. Gottingen: Hogrefe and Huber.Google Scholar
Deb, S. & Hunter, D. (1991a) Psychopathology of people with mental handicap and epilepsy: I. Maladaptive behaviour. British Journal of Psychiatry, 159, 822–826.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Deb, S. & Hunter, D.– (1991b) Psychopathology of people with mental handicap and epilepsy: II. Psychiatric illness. British Journal of Psychiatry, 159, 826–830.Google Scholar
Espie, C. A., Pashley, A. S., Bonham, K. G. et al (1989) The mentally handicapped person with epilepsy: a comparative study investigating psychosocial functioning. Journal of Mental Deficiency Research, 33, 123–135.Google Scholar
Fenwick, P. (1995) Psychiatric disorder and epilepsy. In Epilepsy (2nd edn)(eds Hopkins, A., Shorvon, S. & Cascino, G.) pp. 453–502. London: Chapman & Hall.Google Scholar
Goldstein, L. H. (1997) Psychological control of seizures. In The Clinical Psychologist's Handbook of Epilepsy: Assessment and Management (eds Cull, C. & Goldstein, L. H.) pp. 113–129. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Hopkins, A. & Shorvon, S. (1995) Definition & epidemiology of epilepsy. In Epilepsy (2nd edn) (eds Hopkins, A., Shorvon, S. & Cascino, G.) pp. 1–24. London: Chapman & Hall.Google Scholar
International League Against Epilepsy Commission on Classification and Terminology (1989) Proposal for revised classification of epilepsies and epileptic syndromes. Epilepsia, 30, 389–399.Google Scholar
International League Against Epilepsy Commission on Epidemiology and Prognosis (1993) Guidelines for epidemiological studies on epilepsy. Epilepsia, 34, 592–596.Google Scholar
Jacoby, A., Baker, G. A., Steen, N. et al (1996) The clinical course of epilepsy and its psychosocial correlates: findings from a UK community study. Epilepsia, 37, 148–161.Google Scholar
Jenkins, L. K. & Brown, S. W. (1992) Some issues in the assessment of epilepsy occurring in the context of learning disability in adults. Seizure, 1, 49–55.Google Scholar
Kanemoto, K., Kawasaki, J. & Kawai, I. (1996) Postictal psychosis: a comparison with acute inter-ictal and chronic psychoses. Epilepsia, 37, 551–556.Google Scholar
Logsdail, S. J. & Toone, B. K. (1988) Post-ictal psychoses. British Journal of Psychiatry, 152, 246–252.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mattson, R. H. (1996). The role of the old and the new antiepileptic drugs in special populations: mental and multiple handicaps. Epilepsia, 37 (suppl. 6), S45–S53.Google Scholar
Moore, P. M., Baker, G. A., McDade, G. et al (1994) Epilepsy, pseudoseizures and perceived family characteristics: a controlled study. Epilepsy Research, 18, 75–83.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nashef, L. & Brown, S. (1996) Epilepsy and sudden death. Lancet, 348, 1324–1325.Google Scholar
Rutter, M., Graham, P. & Yule, W. (1970) A Neuropsychiatric Study in Childhood. London: Heinemann Medical.Google Scholar
Scheepers, B., Budd, S., Curry, S. et al (1994) Non-epileptic attack disorder: a clinical audit. Seizure, 3, 129–134.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Scheffer, I. E., Bhatia, K. P., Lopes-Cendes, I. et al (1995) Autosomal dominant nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy. A distinctive clinical disorder. Brain, 118, 61–73.Google Scholar
Smith, M. C. (1997) Landau-Kleffner syndrome and continuous spikes and waves during slow sleep. In Epilepsy: A Comprehensive Textbook (eds Engel, J. Jnr & Pedley, T.) pp. 2367–2377. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott-Raven.Google Scholar
Staufenberg, E. F. & Brown, S. W. (1994) Some issues in non-convulsive status epilepticus in children and adolescents with learning difficulties. Seizure, 3, 95–105.Google Scholar
Steffenburg, S., Gillberg, C. & Steffenburg, U. (1996) Psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents with mental retardation and active epilepsy. Archives of Neurology, 53, 904–912.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Taylor, M. P., Readman, S., Hague, B. et al (1994) A district epilepsy service with community-based specialist liason nurses and guidelines for shared care. Seizure, 3, 121–127.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Trimble, M. R. (1991) The Psychoses of Epilepsy. New York: Raven Press.Google Scholar
Trimble, M. R. & Schmitz, B. (1997) The psychoses of epilepsy/schizophrenia. In Epilepsy: A Comprehensive Textbook (eds Engel, J. Jnr & Pedley, T.) pp. 2071–2081. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott-Raven.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.