Epilepsy and its diaganosis

Epilepsy :-

Epilepsy is a brain disorder that causes people to have recurring seizures. The seizures happen when clusters of nerve cells, or neurons, in the brain send out the wrong signals. People may have strange sensations and emotions or behave strangely. They may have violent muscle spasms or lose consciousness.
Epilepsy has many possible causes, including illness, brain injury and abnormal brain development. In many cases, the cause is unknown.
Doctors use brain scans and other tests to diagnose epilepsy. It is important to start treatment right away. There is no cure for epilepsy, but medicines can control seizures for most people. When medicines are not working well, surgery or implanted devices such as vagus nerve stimulators may help. Special diets can help some children with epilepsy.

Anti-Epileptic Medicine:-

Frisium (clobazam) belongs to a class of medications called benzodiazepines (BEN-zo-di-AZ-ah-peens). Frisium is effective against all seizure types, although tolerance (lessening of the effect from the same dose) may limit its long-term usefulness for some patients.
It is used mainly as an add-on (adjunctive) medication for primary generalized and partial seizure disorders but it also can be effective when used alone.
In addition, it is used intermittently to treat seizures associated with the menstrual cycle

SEDATIVES

A sedative is a substance that induces sedation by reducing irritability or excitement.
At higher doses it may result in slurred speech, staggering gait, poor judgment, and slow, uncertain reflexes. Doses of sedatives such as benzodiazepines when used as a hypnotic to induce sleep tend to be higher than those used to relieve anxiety where as only low doses are needed to provide calming sedative effects.
Sedatives can be abused to produce an overly-calming effect (alcohol being the classic and most common sedating drug). At high doses or when they are abused, many of these drugs can cause unconsciousness and even death

Types of sedatives:-

Barbiturates
amobarbital (Amytal)
pentobarbital (Nembutal)
secobarbital (Seconal)
Phenobarbitol (Luminal)

Benzodiazepines ("minor tranquilizers")
clonazepam (Klonopin)
diazepam (Valium)
estazolam (Prosom)
flunitrazepam (Rohypnol)
lorazepam (Ativan)
midazolam (Versed)
nitrazepam (Mogadon)
oxazepam (Serax)
triazolam (Halcion)
temazepam (Restoril, Normison, Planum, Tenox, and Temaze)
chlordiazepoxide (Librium)
alprazolam (Xanax)

Herbal sedatives
ashwagandha
catnip
kava (Piper methysticum)
mandrake[citation needed]
cannabis
valerian

Solvent sedatives
chloral hydrate (Noctec)
diethyl ether (Ether)
ethyl alcohol (alcoholic beverage)
methyl trichloride (Chloroform)

Nonbenzodiazepine sedatives
eszopiclone (Lunesta)
zaleplon (Sonata)
zolpidem (Ambien)
zopiclone (Imovane, Zimovane)

Uncategorized Sedatives
carisoprodol (Soma)
clomethiazole (clomethiazole)
gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB)
diphenhydramine (Benadryl)
Thalidomide
ethchlorvynol (Placidyl)
glutethimide (Doriden)
ketamine (Ketalar, Ketaset)
methaqualone (Sopor, Quaalude)
methyprylon (Noludar)
ramelteon (Rozerem)

LORAZEPAM--SEDATIVE FOR PATIENTS

Lorazepam, initially marketed under the brand names Ativan and Temesta, is a benzodiazepine drug with short to medium duration of action. It has all five intrinsic benzodiazepine effects: anxiolytic, amnesic, sedative/hypnotic, anticonvulsant and muscle relaxant.It is a powerful anxiolytic and since its introduction in 1971, lorazepam's principal use has been in treating the symptom of anxiety. It is a unique benzodiazepine insofar as it has also found use as an adjunct antiemetic in chemotherapy. Among benzodiazepines, lorazepam has a relatively high addictive potential.

Mostly used to sedatae the Neuro-Epileptic Patients

GAMMA AMINOBUTYRIC ACID (GABA)

γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) is the chief inhibitory neurotransmitter in the mammalian central nervous system. It plays an important role in regulating neuronal excitability throughout the nervous system. In humans, GABA is also directly responsible for the regulation of muscle tone.In insect species GABA acts only on excitatory nerve receptors.
While technically an amino acid, GABA is rarely referred to as such in the scientific or medical communities, because the term "amino acid," used without a qualifier, refers to the alpha amino acids, which GABA is not, nor is it incorporated into proteins.
In spastic diplegia in humans, GABA absorption by some nerves becomes damaged, which leads to hypertonia of the muscles signaled by those nerves.

The GABA receptors are a class of receptors that respond to the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), the chief inhibitory neurotransmitter in the vertebrate central nervous system. There are three classes of GABA receptors: GABAA, GABAB, and GABAС. jea
GABAA and GABAС receptors are ligand-gated ion channels (also known as ionotropic receptors), whereas GABAB receptors are G protein-coupled receptors (also known as metabotropic receptors).

ANTI-EPILEPTIC DRUG

Eptoin 100 is Phenytoin sodium is an antiepileptic drug. Phenytoin sodium is related to the barbiturates in chemical structure, but has a five-membered ring. The chemical name is sodium 5,5-diphenyl-2, 4-imidazolidinedione.

COMMON SIDE EFFECTS:-

Headache, nausea, vomiting, constipation, dizziness, drowsiness, trouble sleeping, or nervousness may occur. If any of these effects persist or worsen, notify your doctor or pharmacist promptly.

Phenytoin may cause swelling and bleeding of the gums. Massage your gums and brush and floss your teeth regularly to minimize this problem.

VALPROIC ACID FOR MOOD FRESHNER

VALPROIC ACID:

Valproic acid (VPA) is a chemical compound that has found clinical use as an anticonvulsant and mood-stabilizing drug, primarily in the treatment of epilepsy, bipolar disorder, and less commonly major depression. It is also used to treat migraine headaches and schizophrenia.

ROLE IN PHARMACOLOGY:-

Valproate is believed to affect the function of the neurotransmitter GABA (as a GABA transaminase inhibitor) in the human brain, making it an alternative to lithium salts in treatment of bipolar disorder.In addition to blocking transamination of GABA, Valproate is believed to reverse the transamination process to form more GABA. However, several other mechanisms of action in neuropsychiatric disorders have been proposed for valproic acid in recent years..
Valproic acid also blocks the voltage-gated sodium channels and T-type Calcium channels.These mechanisms make Valproic Acid a Broad Spectrum Anticonvulsant drug.
Valproic acid is an inhibitor of the enzyme histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1) hence it is a histone deacetylase inhibitor.

Why in Neuro:-

As an anticonvulsant, valproic acid is used to control absence seizures, tonic-clonic seizures (grand mal), complex partial seizures, juvenile myoclonic epilepsy and the seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. It is also used in treatment of myoclonus. In some countries, parenteral (administered intravenously) preparations of valproate are used also as second-line treatment of status epilepticus, as an alternative to phenytoin. Valproate is one of the most common drugs used to treat post-traumatic epilepsy.

ContraIndications:-

Valproate is relatively contraindicated in pregnancy due to its teratogenicity; women who become pregnant while taking valproate should be counselled as to its risks, take high dose folic acid and be offered antenatal screening (alpha-fetoprotein and second trimester ultrasound scans).It is a known folate antagonist, which can cause neural tube defects. Thus, folic acid supplements may alleviate the teratogenic problems. A recent study showed that children of mothers taking valproate during pregnancy are at risk for significantly lower IQs. Exposure of the human embryo to valproic acid is also associated with risk of autism, and it is possible to duplicate features characteristic of autism by exposing rat embryos to valproic acid at the time of neural tube closure. One study found that valproate exposure on embryonic day 11.5 led to significant local recurrent connectivity in the juvenile rat neocortex, consistent with the underconnectivity theory of autism.
Valproate is contraindicated in overweight patients because it might cause weight gain.[citation needed]

Common Side Effects:-

Common side effects are dyspepsia and/or weight gain. Less common are fatigue, peripheral edema, acne, dizziness, drowsiness, hair loss, headaches, nausea, sedation and tremors. Valproic acid also causes hyperammonemia, which can lead to brain damage.Valproate levels within the normal range are capable of causing hyperammonemia and ensuing encephalopathy. There have been reports of brain encephalopathy developing without hyperammonemia or elevated valproate levels

Nano Particles for Killing Tumers and Cancer particles

Small is promising when it comes to illuminating tiny tumors or precisely delivering drugs, but many worry about the safety of nano-scale materials. Now a team of scientists has created minuscule flakes of silicon that glow brightly, last long enough to slowly release cancer drugs, then break down into harmless by-products.

"It is the first luminescent nanoparticle that was purposely designed to minimize toxic side effects," said Michael Sailor, a chemistry professor at the University of California, San Diego who led the study.
Many nanoparticles tested in research labs are too poisonous for use in humans.
"This new design meets a growing need for non-toxic alternatives that have a chance to make it into the clinic to treat human patients," Sailor said.
The particles inherently glow, a useful property that is most commonly achieved by including toxic organic chemicals or tiny structures called quantum dots, which can leave potentially harmful heavy metals in their wake.
When the researchers tested their safer nanoparticles in mice, they saw tumors glow for several hours, then dim as the particles broke down.


This is the first sudy to image tumors and organs using biodegradable silicon nanoparticles in live animals.The particles begin as thin wafers made porous with an electrical current then smashed to bits with ultrasound. Additional treatment alters the physical structure of the flakes to make them glow red when illuminated with ultraviolet light.
Luminescent particles can reveal tumors too tiny to detect by other means or allow a surgeon to be sure all of a cancerous growth has been removed.
These nanoparticles could also help deliver drugs safely, the researchers report. The cancer drug doxorubicin will stick to the pores and slowly escape as the silicon dissolves.
"The goal is to use the nanoparticles to chaperone the drug directly to the tumor, to release it into the tumor rather than other parts of the body," Sailor said.
Targeted delivery would allow doctors to use smaller doses of the drug. At doses high enough to be effective, when delivered to the whole body, doxorubicin often has toxic side effects.
At about 100 nanometers, these particles are bigger than many designed to deliver drugs, which can be just a few nanometers across – a thousand times smaller than the diameter of a human hair.
Their larger size contributes to both their effectiveness and their safety. Large particles can hold more of a drug. Yet they self-destruct, and the remnants can be filtered away by the kidneys.
Close examination of vulnerable organs like liver, spleen and kidney, which help to remove toxins, revealed no lasting changes in mice treated with the new nanoparticles.