Characteristics Of Febrile Seizures Research Articles

Animal Models of Febrile Seizures: Limitations and Recent Advances in the Field.

Febrile seizures (FSs) are defined as seizures occurring in children aged 6 months to 5 years with a background of elevated body temperature. It is one of the most common neurological disorders of childhood, emphasizing the importance of understanding the causes of FSs and their impact on the developing nervous system. However, there are significant limitations to the technologies currently available for studying the etiology and pathophysiology of seizures in humans. It is currently not possible to adequately capture the subtle molecular and structural rearrangements of the nervous system that can occur after seizures in humans. The use of animal models can be invaluable for these purposes. The most commonly used models in modern research are hyperthermic models in rats and mice aged 10-12 days. While these models can reproduce many of the characteristics of FSs, they have certain limitations. This review outlines the key considerations when working with models of FSs, provides an overview of current approaches to producing seizures in different model subjects, and presents a summary of key findings regarding morphological and functional changes in the brain and behavioral alterations that have been identified in studies using animal models of FSs.

Clinical profile and laboratory parameters of febrile seizures: a hospital based cross-sectional study in sub-Himalayan region

Background: Febrile seizures occur commonly in the age group of 6 to 60 months, clinical spectrum is variable and range from single, brief episode to status epilepticus which can further progress to long term consequences. There is very limited data available from sub-Himalayan belt of northern India, hence the present study was planned to know the clinical spectrum, pattern of lab parameters and their association as a risk factor for occurrence of seizures. Methods: A hospital based cross-sectional study was conducted in the department of paediatrics of Indira Gandhi Medical college, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. All children between 6 to 60 months admitted in our institute during the study period of July 2021 to June 2022 with diagnosis of febrile seizure were considered for the study. Results: A total of 120 children were included in the present study with a mean age of 26.6±14.2 months. Majority of the study subjects were from rural area (74.2%) and male had slightly higher representation (55.8%). Generalised tonic-clonic seizure (78.3%) was the most common phenotypic presentation, cases with SFS constituted 61.7% and CFS was observed in 38.3% of study subjects. Raised ESR values, elevated CRP values and leucocytosis had significant association in occurrence of CFS. Conclusions: The study provides valuable insights into the different phenotypic presentations and characteristics of febrile seizures in the study population. The study further identifies a statistically significant association between certain inflammatory markers and CFS.

Characteristics of febrile seizures with SARS-CoV-2 infection in the Omicron era.

While the pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is ongoing, the Omicron variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been dominant recently. The Omicron variant causes more seizures in pediatric patients compared with previously circulated variants. This study aimed to investigate the incidence and clinical features of febrile seizure (FS) in pediatric patients with COVID-19 during the Omicron era. The medical records of pediatric patients (≤18 years of age) diagnosed with COVID-19, who presented with FS between February 2020 and June 2022, were reviewed retrospectively to analyze clinical characteristics of FS in seven university-affiliated hospitals of Korea. Of 664 pediatric patients with COVID-19 during the study period, 46 during the pre-Omicron period and 589 during the Omicron period were included in the study analysis; 29 patients during the transition period were excluded. Among the included patients, 81 (12.8%) had concomitant FS, and most (76.5%) experienced simple FS. All FS episodes occurred during the Omicron period and none of them during pre-Omicron period (P=0.016). Sixty-five (80.2%) and 16 (19.8%) patients were categorized as FS (patient age ≤60 months) and late-onset FS (patient age >60 months), respectively. Underlying neurologic disease (P=0.013) and focal onset seizure (P=0.012) were more common in the late-onset FS group than in the FS group; however, overall clinical manifestations and outcomes including seizures consistent with characteristics of complex FS and subsequent epilepsy were similar between the two groups. As the COVID-19 pandemic persists, the incidence of FS has increased with the emergence of the Omicron variant. About one-fifth of the patients experiencing FS due to infection by the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 were aged >60 months; however, clinical characteristics and outcomes were favorable. More information and long-term prognoses in patients with FS due to COVID-19 should be acquired.

Impact of COVID-19 on the incidence of respiratory viral infections and clinical characteristics of associated febrile seizures.

Viral infections of the upper respiratory tract are one of the most common causes of febrile seizures (FSs). During the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, mitigation measures have contributed to changes in the incidence of respiratory viral infections. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the incidence of respiratory viral infections and clinical characteristics of FSs. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 988 episodes of FS (865 before the pandemic and 123 during the pandemic) between March 2016 and February 2022. Seizure characteristics and their outcomes, along with the distribution of identified respiratory viruses were compared before and during the pandemic. The occurrence of FSs decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to that before the pandemic. A substantial reduction in the incidence of influenza virus infections was observed (P<0.001) during the pandemic, while the incidence of rhinovirus infection was not significantly changed (P=0.811). Interestingly, a significantly high incidence of parainfluenza virus (P=0.001) infections was observed during the pandemic. No statistically significant between-group differences were observed in the clinical presentation and outcomes of FSs before and during the pandemic. Despite epidemiological changes in respiratory viral infections, the clinical characteristics and outcomes of FSs before and during the COVID-19 pandemic were comparable.

Current understanding of febrile seizures and their long-term outcomes.

In this paper we reframe febrile seizures, which are viewed as a symptom of an underlying brain disorder. The general observation is that a small cohort of children will develop febrile seizures (2-5% in the West), while the greater majority will not. This suggests that the brain that generates a seizure, in an often-mild febrile context, differs in some ways from the brain that does not. While the underlying brain disorder appears to have no significant adverse implication in the majority of children with febrile seizures, serious long-term outcomes (cognitive and neuropsychiatric) have been recently reported, including sudden death. These adverse events likely reflect the underlying intrinsic brain pathology, as yet undefined, of which febrile seizures are purely a manifestation and not the primary cause. A complex interaction between brain-genetics-epigenetics-early environment is likely at play. In view of this emerging data, it is time to review whether febrile seizures are a single entity, with a new and multidimensional approach needed to help with predicting outcome. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: A febrile seizure is due to a brain's aberrant response to high temperature. Problems in a small group of children are now being identified later in life. There is no clear correlation between duration or other characteristics of febrile seizures and subsequent mesial temporal sclerosis.

PO-170 Epidemiology of children's febrile seizures and prospects for health education

Objective In this paper, through the epidemiological characteristics of febrile seizures (FS) and the status quo of health education, the non-drug prevention system based on scientific physical activity intervention is gradually formed in the future, so as to establish "knowledge, pr34evention, medical, nursing ,sports nutrition” The protection and maintenance of the five-in-one sports promotion health network lays the theoretical foundation.&#x0D; Methods Through domestic and foreign literatures, CNKI, Pubmed, Web of science and other databases are reviewed.&#x0D; Results (1) The exclusion criteria of FS are similar at home and abroad, only the definitions of onset age are different, the disease has age dependence.(2) The index of FS prognosis health assessment is single. There are few reports on the post-exercise ability and physical changes of FS children. And there is a lack of preventive health care related to exercise and brain health.(3) The descriptive study of FS in China lacks the incidence rate based on large-scale population samples, and the interventional research is limited to the clinic. The prevention and prognosis interventions for this disease lack relevant health education guidelines and intervention programs for kindergartens, schools and communities.(4) In the process of continuous seizures, hypoxia can cause transient or long-term organ damage in the body, affecting the development of the nervous system. The effects of FS on physical fitness are mainly concentrated on balance ability, systemic coordination ability and motor discrimination ability. Balance, sensitivity and coordination quality are related to nervous system, skeletal muscle and sensory organs.&#x0D; Conclusions The research on the epidemiological characteristics of FS in China needs to be further improved. Prognosis and health assessment should be complementary to physical health and medical health. For children with history of febrile seizures, exercise as a simple, convenient, non-burden, drug-free effective way to promote central nervous system and brain health, has a positive effect on improving the immune level of children with FS and improving the prognosis of brain damage. Provide new ideas for prognosis and prevention, and promote health education and health communication of febrile seizures.

The relationship between drug treatment and the clinical characteristics of febrile seizures

Drugs such as theophylline, antihistamines, and antiallergics with anti-histaminic actions have been shown to induce febrile seizures. The relationship between febrile seizures and medications has not been actively investigated. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between the clinical characteristics of febrile seizures and the use of medications. Two hundred and sixty-five children treated at our emergency room due to febrile seizures were studied to investigate the relationship between the clinical characteristics of febrile seizures, such as the type and duration of convulsions, and the drug treatment. The duration of convulsions was longer among children who took theophylline and antihistamines than among children who did not take these medications. Of the antihistamines, mequitazine did not prolong the duration of convulsion. Theophylline should not be used in febrile children, particularly infants. Cautions should be taken in using histamine H1 antagonists in young infants because such drugs could potentially disturb the anticonvulsive central histaminergic system. However, mequitazine appears to be a suitable antihistamine for use in children with febrile seizures, since it does not prolong convulsions.

Influenza A and Febrile Seizures

Predisposing factors and characteristics of febrile seizures in children with influenza A infection were studied in children hospitalized with febrile seizures between January and July 2005 at Tuen Mun Hospital, Hong Kong.

A retrospective analysis of patients with febrile seizures followed by epilepsy

This study was performed to investigate some clinical parameters of febrile seizures (FSs) in patients with epilepsy, testing any possible correlation between those parameters and the type of subsequent epilepsy. One hundred and nine patients with epilepsy having a history of FSs were evaluated for age at onset of FSs, interval between first FS and first afebrile seizure, recurrence rate, type of FSs, incidence of febrile status, family history for epilepsy and for FSs and the neurological status of the patient. The epilepsy that developed subsequently, were classified as generalised versus partial and also according to their syndromic subgroups. In temporal lobe epilepsy with mesial temporal sclerosis (TLE-MTS), statistical analyses revealed a younger age at onset of FSs, and a high incidence of episodes of febrile status and of complex FSs. Clinical characteristics of FSs followed by partial epilepsies were younger age at onset, presence of focal features and of febrile status, longer interval between the first FS and the first afebrile seizure, and a high incidence of FSs in the family history. In generalised epilepsies, however, a shorter interval between the first FS and the first afebrile seizure, a high incidence of single FS and of a family history of epilepsy were predominating characteristics. Results suggest that certain features of FSs may be predictive of a particular type of subsequent epilepsy.