Talk:Rolandic epilepsy

Material from ELP4 article

The following material was added to the ELP4 article but I have deleted it since it was not appropriate there but I reproduce it here since it might be useful for this article:

Youth that are affected by even benign Rolandic Epilepsy are at risk of developing cognitive dysfunction and at worst they may be left with significant impairment of their mental faculties, especially in the associative cortex, which is where learning takes place. This particular presentation affects about 15% of children with epilepsy and is more likely to affect boys. The proportion of those affected makes this treatment worth pursuing because of the risks that are involved with allowing a child to live with this condition even for a short while.

Rolandic epilepsy, like other forms of epilepsy, has drug treatments through which a child's seizures can be controlled. While there are many treatments that have been found to reduce seizures in patients, mostly by blocking sodium and calcium channels. These drugs, however, also interfere with the endocrine, and on occasion, the immune system. In the endocrine system, it has been found that anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) decrease secretion of many hormones, mostly the gonadal hormones. One AED, valproate, has been seen to increase insulin levels in the blood and raise body weight; while topiramate, another AED, has the opposite effect. Most AEDs have been found to suppress the immune system as well. Valproate is an example of those that have been found to suppress activity, inhibit protein synthesis in lymphocytes, and cause changes or decrease plasma levels of some immunoglobulins. From these articles it can be seen that the use of AEDs, while decreasing the amount of seizures a person has, requires the patient to be on watch for malfunctions that may occur as a result, and possible cause permanent damage. An epilepsy treatment that is offered as an alternative to AEDs is surgery. A patient with epilepsy would have surgery if there condition has been found to be drug-resistant. Several different surgical techniques exist, and they are getting less invasive and most effective all the time. There has been a high success rate however they have been found to have palliative effects. Since the underlying reason for the epilepsy is not being solved, a patient can still have recurring seizures.

Boghog2 (talk) 19:51, 8 April 2009 (UTC)