Fear is a normal response to danger. But in anxiety, people are too fearful, and without any particular reason. In a seizure, the nerve cells of the brain send out electrical discharges, but in an abnormal and uncontrolled way. This leads to a change in the way that the brain functions. There are medications available to treat anxiety and seizures.
Benzodiazepines
Fifteen percent of American adults take benzodiazepines once a year, according to Allan Ropper, M.D., Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School in "Adams & Victor's Principles of Neurology." Benzodiazepines are a medicine to treat anxiety and are especially useful for people who have severe symptoms. They are also used to control status epilepticus, a medical emergency where people are having a seizure that lasts longer than 30 minutes or having continual seizures for that length of time. Benzodiazepines primarily work on the nerve cells in the brain. They attach to the GABA receptors on the nerve cells and help to decrease the activity of the nerves. Receptors are proteins on a cell membrane that wait for instructions that tell them what to do. GABA is a substance that the nerves use to calm down. Diazepam, lorazepam and triazolam are examples of benzodiazepines.
Carbamazepine
Carbamazepine is a medication for partial and generalized seizures. A partial seizure develops in one area of the brain; people do not lose consciousness. A generalized seizure involves both sides of the brain. People usually lose consciousness in generalized seizures. This medication prevents the nerves in the brain from sending abnormal signals and prevents the seizure from spreading. In "Adams & Victor's Principles of Neurology," Dr. Ropper writes that carbamazepine is usually the first medication prescribed by neurologists for a partial or generalized seizure.
Ethosuximide
Ethosuximide is a medication used in the treatment of absence seizures. This type of seizure used to be called a "petit mal" seizure. It is a type of generalized seizure which primarily affects children, where they lose consciousness for approximately 10 seconds to 30 seconds. Ethosuximide affects the signals of the nerves in the thalamus portion of the brain. It interferes with the abnormal signals responsible for absence seizures, as explained by James McNamara, M.D., Chair of the Department of Neurobiology at Duke University Medical Center in "Goodman & Gilman's The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics."
Valproate
This is the preferred medication in the treatment of myoclonic seizures, atonic seizures and infantile spasms, according to Dr. Adamolekun in "The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals." In myotonic seizures, the muscles of adolescents twitch or jerk for a few seconds. Atonic seizures usually affect children. Their muscles completely relax, which makes them fall down. Infantile spasms are a type of seizure some infants may have when they are drowsy or first awaken. Valproate interferes with any repetitive signals sent by the nerves of the brain. It also makes GABA more available to the nerves.
References
- "Adams & Victor's Principles of Neurology"; Allan Ropper, M.D., Martin Samuels, M.D.; 2009
- "Goodman & Gilman's The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics"; Laurence Brunton, Ph.D.; 2006
- The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals: Seizure Disorders
