Study says tsunami may bring on seizures
Source: Agencies |
January 22, 2013, Tuesday
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THE number of seizure patients in a northern Japanese fishing community devastated by the March 11, 2011 tsunami spiked in the weeks following the disaster, according to a study.
The study looked at 440 patient records from the Kesennuma City Hospital, in a city that was devastated by the massive tsunami touched off by the 9.0 magnitude earthquake.
Thirteen patients were admitted with seizures in the eight weeks after the disaster, but only one had been admitted in the two months before March 11.
Previous research has linked stressful life-threatening disasters with an increased risk of seizures, but most case reports lacked clinical data with multiple patients.
"We suggest that stress associated with life-threatening situations may enhance seizure generation," said lead researcher Ichiyo Shibahara, a staff neurosurgeon at Sendai Medical Center in northern Japan.
But he said stress itself is not a universal risk factor for seizures. "Most of the seizure patients had some sort of neurological disease before the earthquake," he said.
His team examined medical records from patients admitted to the neurosurgery ward in the eight weeks before and after the March 11 disaster and compared them to the same time period each year between 2008 and 2010.
In 2008, there were 11 seizure patients admitted between January 14 and May 15. In 2009, there were seven and in 2010, just four.
Of the 13 admitted after the disaster, 11 had preexisting brain disorders that included epilepsy, head injuries or stroke.
The study looked at 440 patient records from the Kesennuma City Hospital, in a city that was devastated by the massive tsunami touched off by the 9.0 magnitude earthquake.
Thirteen patients were admitted with seizures in the eight weeks after the disaster, but only one had been admitted in the two months before March 11.
Previous research has linked stressful life-threatening disasters with an increased risk of seizures, but most case reports lacked clinical data with multiple patients.
"We suggest that stress associated with life-threatening situations may enhance seizure generation," said lead researcher Ichiyo Shibahara, a staff neurosurgeon at Sendai Medical Center in northern Japan.
But he said stress itself is not a universal risk factor for seizures. "Most of the seizure patients had some sort of neurological disease before the earthquake," he said.
His team examined medical records from patients admitted to the neurosurgery ward in the eight weeks before and after the March 11 disaster and compared them to the same time period each year between 2008 and 2010.
In 2008, there were 11 seizure patients admitted between January 14 and May 15. In 2009, there were seven and in 2010, just four.
Of the 13 admitted after the disaster, 11 had preexisting brain disorders that included epilepsy, head injuries or stroke.
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