Childhood and Adolescent Epilepsy
Childhood and Adolescent Epilepsy: The Effects, Treatment and Future
Lisa C. Cortina
Walden University
Final Research Paper: Due Week 11-2/16/2014
Social, Behavioral & Cultural Factors in Public Health 6115-9
Introduction: In the last decade, the diagnosis of Epilepsy has taken on a different meaning for those who have it and mostly due to the fact that important strides have been made in research and in recognition of the disease. These changes are measurably improved and reflect significant progress to the field of neurological disorders. At the same time, it is a diagnosis that is still very challenging to manage in the eyes of the public health world as there are many social, psychological, behavioral and physiological dimensions it characteristically assumes. Children and adolescents with a diagnosis of epilepsy are more vulnerable and susceptible to complex treatments by virtue of having undeveloped bodies. Their bodies change more frequently and drastically in shorter periods of time and, therefore, present greater challenges than adults with the diagnosis. Children are at higher risk of developing epilepsy than adults because particular syndromes such as infantile spasms, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, and Rasmussen’s encephalitis begin in childhood (NINDS, 2013). The concentration of research today is in genetics and biomarkers with a vision towards preventing the disease although there is still much work being done to find pharmacological treatments for those with the disease. In the ensuing paragraphs, I will present several aspects of childhood and adolescent epilepsy with a focus on how psychosocial, behavioral, and emotional factors and many others presently influence how the disease is generally perceived and how these factors affect policies in public health and what the future holds for this disease.
Childhood and Adolescent Epilepsy: A Public Health Problem Children and adolescents who have a diagnosis of
Lisa C. Cortina
Walden University
Final Research Paper: Due Week 11-2/16/2014
Social, Behavioral & Cultural Factors in Public Health 6115-9
Introduction: In the last decade, the diagnosis of Epilepsy has taken on a different meaning for those who have it and mostly due to the fact that important strides have been made in research and in recognition of the disease. These changes are measurably improved and reflect significant progress to the field of neurological disorders. At the same time, it is a diagnosis that is still very challenging to manage in the eyes of the public health world as there are many social, psychological, behavioral and physiological dimensions it characteristically assumes. Children and adolescents with a diagnosis of epilepsy are more vulnerable and susceptible to complex treatments by virtue of having undeveloped bodies. Their bodies change more frequently and drastically in shorter periods of time and, therefore, present greater challenges than adults with the diagnosis. Children are at higher risk of developing epilepsy than adults because particular syndromes such as infantile spasms, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, and Rasmussen’s encephalitis begin in childhood (NINDS, 2013). The concentration of research today is in genetics and biomarkers with a vision towards preventing the disease although there is still much work being done to find pharmacological treatments for those with the disease. In the ensuing paragraphs, I will present several aspects of childhood and adolescent epilepsy with a focus on how psychosocial, behavioral, and emotional factors and many others presently influence how the disease is generally perceived and how these factors affect policies in public health and what the future holds for this disease.
Childhood and Adolescent Epilepsy: A Public Health Problem Children and adolescents who have a diagnosis of
References: Cohen, L., (2012), Prevention is Primary, 2nd Edition, Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Curing Epilepsy: The Promise of Research Curing Epilepsy: Pathways Forward. (2013). Retrieved from: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/epilepsy/detail_epilepsy.html Devinsky, O., Schachter, SC, Pacia, SB (2012), Alternative Therapies for Epilepsy, New York, NY: Demos Medical Publishing LLC Devinsky, O., (2008), Epilepsy: Patient and Family Guide, 3rd Edition, New York, NY: Demos Medical Publishing LLC Epilepsia (2014), International League against Epilepsy, Retrieved from: www.ilae- epilepsy.org Neubauer, B, Gross, S, Hahn A, (2008), Epilepsy in Childhood and Adolescence, Deutsch Arztebl International, 105(17): 319–328. Wyllie, E, (2011), Wyllie 's Treatment of Epilepsy: Principles and Practice, PA: Philadelphia, Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins World Health Organization (WHO) (2005), Global Campaign against Epilepsy: Out of the Shadows