Seizures and Status Epilepticus

Author(s):  
Pravin Taneja

Epilepsy is one of the most prevalent chronic neurological disorders both in the U.S. and worldwide, effecting ~1% of the world population. As a result, patients with a history of epilepsy frequently present for surgery. It is important to be aware of how to best characterize the severity of the disease, and treat seizures should they be encountered. In this chapter, we review the epidemiology and pathophysiology of epilepsy. We also discuss the most severe and life threatening form of the condition, status epilepticus. In this emergency situation it is critical that seizures be terminated, and supportive care given. We delineate initial treatment steps and medications, in addition to providing recommendations for refractory cases.

2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 36-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Stocker

Nuclear weapon free zones (NWFZs) were an important development in the history of nuclear nonproliferation efforts. From 1957 through 1968, when the Treaty of Tlatelolco was signed, the United States struggled to develop a policy toward NWFZs in response to efforts around the world to create these zones, including in Europe, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. Many within the U.S. government initially rejected the idea of NWFZs, viewing them as a threat to U.S. nuclear strategy. However, over time, a preponderance of officials came to see the zones as advantageous, at least in certain areas of the world, particularly Latin America. Still, U.S. policy pertaining to this issue remained conservative and reactive, reflecting the generally higher priority given to security policy than to nuclear nonproliferation.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-39
Author(s):  
Kevin Morris ◽  
Mohammad Nami ◽  
Joe F. Bolanos ◽  
Maria A. Lobo ◽  
Melody Sadri-Naini ◽  
...  

Neurological disorders significantly impact the world’s economy due to their often chronic and life-threatening nature afflicting individuals which, in turn, creates a global disease burden. The Group of Twenty (G20) member nations, which represent the largest economies globally, should come together to formulate a plan on how to overcome this burden. The Neuroscience-20 (N20) initiative of the Society for Brain Mapping and Therapeutics (SBMT) is at the vanguard of this global collaboration to comprehensively raise awareness about brain, spine, and mental disorders worldwide. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive review of the various brain initiatives worldwide and highlight the need for cooperation and recommend ways to bring down costs associated with the discovery and treatment of neurological disorders. Our systematic search revealed that the cost of neurological and psychiatric disorders to the world economy by 2030 is roughly $16T. The cost to the economy of the United States is $1.5T annually and growing given the impact of COVID-19. We also discovered there is a shortfall of effective collaboration between nations and a lack of resources in developing countries. Current statistical analyses on the cost of neurological disorders to the world economy strongly suggest that there is a great need for investment in neurotechnology and innovation or fast-tracking therapeutics and diagnostics to curb these costs. During the current COVID-19 pandemic, SBMT, through this paper, intends to showcase the importance of worldwide collaborations to reduce the population’s economic and health burden, specifically regarding neurological/brain, spine, and mental disorders.


2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 618-621 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emilie Panicucci ◽  
Mikael Cohen ◽  
Veronique Bourg ◽  
Fanny Rocher ◽  
Pierre Thomas ◽  
...  

Background: Dalfampridine extended release (DAL) is a broad-spectrum voltage-gated potassium channel blocker that is indicated in multiple sclerosis to improve the nerve conduction of demyelinated axons. Seizures are a known side effect of DAL, which is contraindicated in patients with a history of epilepsy. Objective: Three cases of multiple sclerosis (MS) with de novo convulsive status epilepticus (CSE) probably related to dalfampridine administration are described. Methods: No patients had a history of seizures or renal impairment. Biological tests were normal. A brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed diffuse cortical and subcortical atrophy without active inflammatory lesions. Results: All three patients presented with CSE that was attributed to DAL and so was discontinued. Conclusion: These case reports illustrate that, aside from seizures, de novo CSE is a potential complication of MS patients treated with DAL.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siyeon Suh ◽  
Sol Lee ◽  
Ho Gym ◽  
Sun Ha Jee ◽  
Sanghyuk Yoon ◽  
...  

Abstract Background:COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2 has become the most threatening issue to all populations around the world. It is directly and indirectly affecting all of us and thus, is a emergence topic dealt in global health. In order to avoid the infection, various studies have been done and still ongoing. Now having over 141 million cases of COVID19 and causing over 3 million deaths around the world, the tendency of infection and degree severity of the disease shown in different groups of people came up as an issue. Here, we reviewed 21 papers on SNPs related to SARS-CoV-2 infection severity and analyzed the results of them.Methods:The PubMed databases were searched for papers discussing SNPs associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection severity. Clinical studies with human patients and statistically showing relevance of the SNP with virus infection were included. Quality Assessment of all papers were done with Newcastle Ottawa Scale.Results:In the analysis, 21 full-text literatures out of 2956 screened titles and abstracts, including 63496 cases, were included. All were human based clinical studies, some based on certain regions gathered patient data and some based on big databases obtained online. ACE2, TMPRSS2, IFITM3 are the genes mentioned most frequently that are related with SARS-CoV-2 infection. 20 out of 21 studies mentioned one of more of those genes. The relevant genes according to SNPs were also analyzed. rs12252-C, rs143936283, rs2285666, rs41303171, and rs35803318 are the SNPs that were mentioned at least twice in two different studies.Conclusions: We found that ACE2, TMPRSS2, IFITM3 are the major genes that are involved in SARS-CoV-2 infection. The mentioned SNPs were all related to one or more of the above mentioned genes. There were discussions on certain SNPs that increased the infection severity to certain ethinic groups more than the others. However, as there is limited follow up and data due to shortage of time history of the disease, studies may be limited.


Author(s):  
Andrew E. Stoner

Shilts turns his attention to the struggle for gays and lesbians to remain in active duty for the U.S. military. Shilts highlights the struggles of Edward Modesto, Leonard Matlovich and Margarethe Cammermeyer (among others) amidst gay purges. Shilts examines efforts to repeal the gay ban in the run-up to the Persian Gulf War. Shilts traces the history of the ban military ban to include the heart-breaking story of Thomas Dooley. The issue of outing is explored with Shilts in opposition to more radical opinions that closeted persons (especially those in positions of power) should be outed. Writing process for “Conduct Unbecoming” is explored as Shilts battles life-threatening health episodes as his HIV status advances to an AIDS diagnosis.


Author(s):  
Robert S. Neyland

This article describes shipwrecks from the World Wars. For marine archaeology, there are numerous archaeological sites to dive on, research, and analyze. World War II in Europe resulted in staggering losses of shipping and lives. There were changes in naval warfare that resulted from the technological development of weapons capable of sinking ships. This article highlights archaeological research on world war shipwrecks, which focuses on identifying the locations of wrecks and the causes of sinking. The U.S. Navy's wrecks are distributed in every major body of water and represent many questions formulated in World War archaeology. Furthermore, this article highlights the fact that the shipwrecks of the World Wars pose environmental concerns. Shipwreck finds from the World Wars will undoubtedly continue until all the larger ships and notable aircraft have been found, for such is the fascination with discovery and the history of the lost ships and aircraft of those conflicts.


2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 58
Author(s):  
Doni MS. Prabowo ◽  
Haris B. Widodo

Objective: The aim of this study is to describe and analyse nicotine stomatitis in smokers. Of the world population that consumes tobacco, Asia and Australia make up 57% of tobacco consumers. Tobacco can be consumed by various ways such as smoked tobacco, commonly known as cigarettes, or smokeless tobacco. Cigarettes are known to cause nicotine stomatitis in the oral cavity.Methods: A 28-year-old man patient came with complaints of white spots on his hard palate. The patient has a medical history of asthma as a child and has been taking salbutamol. The patient has been smoking 3 packs of cigarettes a day since being 16 years old.Results: Nicotine stomatitis that occurs on the hard palate appears as circular reddish shapes on the orifice of minor salivary glands. These lesions are formed from physically irritation caused by smoking. The lesions were benign and reversible.Conclusion: Thought appropriate examination and treatment, these lesions were healed.


2019 ◽  
pp. 7-28
Author(s):  
Deepak Nayyar

This chapter provides a historical perspective on Asia in the world economy with a focus on the colonial era, and sketches a profile of the prevalent initial conditions when Asian countries became independent. Two centuries ago, Asia accounted for two-thirds of world population and almost three-fifths of world income. Its decline and fall during the colonial era, associated with deindustrialization, was attributable to its integration with the world economy, through trade and investment, driven by imperialism. Fifty years ago, then, Asia was the poorest continent in the world. Its even worse demographic and social indicators of development epitomized its underdevelopment. Such initial conditions were the starting point in its journey to development. But most Asian countries did have a long history of well-structured states, and cultures, which were not entirely destroyed by colonialism. Their different pasts, embedded in histories albeit shaped by colonial legacies, also influenced future outcomes in development.


Author(s):  
Hans J. Ottosson ◽  
Thomas A. Naylor ◽  
Oliver K. Johnson ◽  
Christopher A. Mattson

Abstract Accessing clean water is a persistent, and life threatening, challenge for millions of people in the world. Mechanical hand pumps have a long history of helping people access clean ground water for drinking and daily use. Among the most ubiquitous are the India Mark II and III pump systems, for which there are more than 4,000,000 installed across the world. These are estimated to serve between 600M and 1B people. All pumps degrade in performance over time, requiring service; many do not receive it causing pumps to become dysfunctional. The purpose of this paper is to establish a baseline for nitrile seal performance of India Mark II hand pump systems. Understanding off-the-shelf performance and using it as a baseline is an important step toward understanding degradation of performance over time, which is the focus of a much larger study to understand — mechanically and socially — how hand pumps perform, degrade, and ultimately meet human needs. In this paper, 110 off-the-shelf nitrile seals that were purchased in Uganda were tested and the following was characterized: (i) geometric variation, (ii) material variation, (iii) leak performance, and (iv) correlation between these. The seal leak performance was found to be very robust to variations in geometry and material at zero cycles. This important baseline supports our future work to understand how and to what degree seals become sensitive to geometric and material degradation during use.


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