Epilepsy is a neurological condition, which affects the nervous system. Epilepsy is also known as a seizure disorder. It is usually diagnosed after a person has had at least two seizures that were not caused by some known medical condition like alcohol withdrawal or
extremely low blood sugar. Sometimes, according to the International League Against Epilepsy, epilepsy can be diagnosed after one seizure, if a person has a condition that places them at high risk for having another.
The seizures in epilepsy may be related to a brain injury or a family tendency, but most of the time the cause is unknown. The word "epilepsy" does not indicate anything about the cause of the person's seizures, what type they are, or how severe they are.
From web I have found this information which I want to share with my blog readers.
On any given day in my clinical practice, the most commonly asked question is the side effects of anti-seizure medications. Given the considerable number of drug options available to manage seizures, knowing what side effects to look for is an essential part of any medical visit for the individual with epilepsy. Beginning today our highlighted session hopes to further inform you, the reader, as to some of the side effects that you need to watch out for with some of our newer and older drugs. Over the next four weeks we will feature a different aspect of the adverse effect roundtable session so you can best be served by understanding and knowing about some of the side effects that could occur with the use of any medication. Starting us off is Dr. Elizabeth Waterhouse from the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia who provides a brief discussion on what do clinical trials tell us. Do the research trials that lead to a drug's approval give us the full picture of a drug's side effects and does it predict accurately the safety of medications once they are prescribed by any physician.
Dr. Korwyn Williams then follows on a general discussion of some of the serious side effects of the newer medications. What are the implications with regards to mental health, to vision and other adverse effects that one needs to consider when using these medications? Dr. Williams is from Phoenix Children's Hospital in Phoenix, Arizona. Last, but not least, Dr. Katherine Noe, MD, PhD from Mayo Clinic in Arizona presents a review of some of the other serious adverse effects of new medications. In particular she focuses in on women's issues, potential impact of medications on the unborn child and other important side effects that need to be considered when making a decision with regards to initiating a medication. These three sessions are then followed by a moderated panel discussion available in both hallway conversations audio file and in video format in which I am able to address specific questions about the side effects of the medications to each of our panelists. I hope that you find this roundtable helpful and useful either for yourself, an individual with epilepsy or for patients that you care for if you are a healthcare professional.
We wish to acknowledge Lundbeck Pharmaceuticals for their kind, unrestricted, educational grant that helps underwrite this roundtable session. It is important to note that none of the authors or participants in the roundtable were aware of the funding at the time that the roundtable was filmed.
(Source-epilepsy.com)
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