Pediatric Epilepsy Caused by Irregular Brain Activity - Case Study Example

Pediatric Epilepsy Caused by Irregular Brain Activity Jerrod Hamilton was a happy child until he started suffering from seizures caused by irregular brain activity. The human brain operates on electrical energy whereby brain cells (neurons) make use of electrical charge to send messages to other cells. In the case of Jerrod who suffered a seizure, neurons get out control due to increased electrical activity in the brain. The increased electrical activity in the brain leads to the victim suffering from involuntary behavioural changes (Engel 92).

Jerrod experienced seizures which became severe when his condition deteriorated. The first symptom that Jerrod suffered from was a seizure which made his right arm twitch as he became a little disoriented. At the same time after the incident, he remained quiet than usual and in the following days he suffered from more muscle twitching episodes that made him weak. The seizures made Jerrod to stare blankly followed by movements of his head slightly back and forth. When the seizures affected Jerrod, he could not respond to his parents and soon after the episodes he had memory loss and could not recognize his parents.

Jerrod’s symptoms became more frequent and he suffered daily seizures which affected his right side of the body (Pellock 88). The daily seizures left Jerrod disoriented, weak and tired and thus tests were conducted to find the problem Jerrod suffered from. Dr. Singh conducted an EEG exam of Jerrod and he was diagnosed to be suffering from Rasmussen Syndrome. Rasmussen Syndrome is a condition that affects most young children with symptoms resembling that of epilepsy. This syndrome is a neurological condition that is characterised with severe seizures, loss of speech, memory lapses and partial paralysis (Engel 49).

Works CitedEngel, Jerome, Pedley, Timothy and Aicardi, Jean. Epilepsy: A Comprehensive Textbook. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning, 2008. Print.Pellock, John, Dodson, Edwin and Bourgeois, Blaise. Pediatric epilepsy: Diagnosis and therapy. Chicago, IL: John Wiley and Sons, 2008. Print.