/ English Dictionary |
EPILEPSY
Pronunciation (US): | (GB): |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A disorder of the central nervous system characterized by loss of consciousness and convulsions
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Hypernyms ("epilepsy" is a kind of...):
brain disease; brain disorder; encephalopathy (any disorder or disease of the brain)
Meronyms (parts of "epilepsy"):
epileptic seizure (convulsions accompanied by impaired consciousness)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "epilepsy"):
akinetic epilepsy (epilepsy characterized by akinesia)
cortical epilepsy; focal epilepsy (epilepsy in which the attacks begins with an isolated disturbance of cerebral function (as a twitching of a limb or an illusory sensation or a mental disturbance))
epilepsia major; generalized epilepsy; grand mal; grand mal epilepsy (epilepsy in which the attacks involve loss of consciousness and tonic spasms of the musculature followed by generalized jerking)
Lafora's disease; myoclonus epilepsy (epilepsy characterized by clonus of muscle groups and progressive mental deterioration and genetic origin)
epilepsia minor; petit mal; petit mal epilepsy (epilepsy characterized by paroxysmal attacks of brief clouding of consciousness (and possibly other abnormalities))
posttraumatic epilepsy; traumatic epilepsy (a convulsive epileptic state caused by a head injury)
procursive epilepsy (epilepsy in which a seizure is induced by whirling or running)
psychomotor epilepsy; temporal lobe epilepsy (epilepsy characterized clinically by impairment of consciousness and amnesia for the episode; often involves purposeful movements of the arms and legs and sometimes hallucinations)
reflex epilepsy (a form of epilepsy in which attacks are induced by peripheral stimulation)
status epilepticus (a condition in which there are continuing attacks of epilepsy without intervals of consciousness; can lead to brain damage and death)
tonic epilepsy (epilepsy in which the body is rigid during the seizure)
Derivation:
epileptic (of or relating to or characteristic of epilepsy)
Context examples:
Subsequently, patients develop developmental abnormalities in speech and motor skills, blindness, epilepsy, and seizures.
(Infantile Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis, NCI Thesaurus)
Mutations in the gene are associated with epilepsy, ovarian cancer and melanoma.
(GRIN2A wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)
Special diets can help some children with epilepsy.
(Epilepsy, NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
Mutations and deletions of the gene are associated with severe mental retardation, stereotypic movements, epilepsy, and cerebral malformation.
(MEF2C wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)
A WHO grade I, slow-growing brain neoplasm of children and young adults, associated with epilepsy.
(Angiocentric Glioma, NCI Thesaurus)
The scientists were able to explore the mechanisms of memory at the single-neuron level by studying the brains of 9 patients with severe epilepsy who were being treated at the Barrow Neurological Institute.
(Storing memories of recent events, NIH)
People with temporal lobe epilepsy often experience memory impairments.
(Seizures disrupt memory network, NIH)
Epilepsy is most commonly treated with anti-epileptic drugs, but these drugs often have serious side effects and they do not prevent seizures in three out of 10 patients.
(Electronic device implanted in the brain could stop seizures, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)
It may be the initial manifestation of seizures associated with temporal lobe epilepsy.
(Pharyngeal Dysesthesia, NCI Thesaurus)
With restricted reference to skin tissue, it does not include photosensitivity of the eye to light, as in photophobia or photosensitive epilepsy.
(Photodermatitis, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)