have epilepsy
According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Dravet syndrome is an epileptic disorder that occurs in newborns or young children and can present with a variety of mild to severe symptoms. Clevelandclinic says that in Dravet syndrome, the child starts having seizures in the first year itself. He has fever when he has the first attack. Seizures that occur after the first attack do not have a fever. When a seizure occurs, one side of the child’s body starts jerking.
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Symptoms of Dravet syndrome
Seizures last longer than five minutes, with newborns and young children having seizures every few weeks. There are many types of seizures a child can have. There are many types of seizures in this. There are sudden jerks in the muscles. Apart from this, symptoms of anxiety, balance, walking, co-ordination, growth and nutritional deficiency and sleeping problems can be seen.
cause of dravet syndrome
Dravet syndrome occurs when there is a change (mutation) in the SCN1A gene. About 80% of children diagnosed with Dravet syndrome have an SCN1A gene mutation. There is a category or family of related SCN1A gene mutation disorders. Not all children with this gene mutation develop Dravet syndrome.
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Dravet syndrome treatment
The child is treated to reduce the number and severity of seizures. Not every child reacts to treatment in the same way. For this, medicines such as stripantol, cannabidiol and fenfluramine HCL are given. All three medicines can be given to children two years of age or older. Apart from this, ketogenic diet, vagus nerve stimulation and intravenous immunoglobulin are also included in its treatment.
Do not ignore these symptoms of epilepsy
International Epilepsy Day | Epilepsy Symptoms in Kids: Do not ignore these symptoms of epilepsy
Dravet syndrome prevention
In most children (80%), Dravet syndrome is caused by a genetic mutation in the SCN1A gene. Defects in this gene cause improper functioning of brain cells, which plays a role in the development of epilepsy. The faulty gene can be inherited, but most of the time, the gene mutation is new to your child and is not inherited. There is currently no cure for Dravet syndrome but research is ongoing.
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References:
https://www.chop.edu/conditions-diseases/dravet-syndrome#:~:text=Dravet%20syndrome%20%E2%80%94%20formerly%20known%20as,and%20differences%20in%20childhood%20development .
https://www.ninds.nih.gov/health-information/disorders/dravet-syndrome
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/22517-dravet-syndrome
