Status Epilepticus: Mechanisms of Brain Damage and Treatment

Abstract

This book is volume 34 in the<i>Advances in Neurology</i>series and contains contributions by 106 authors, divided into three sections: classification, pathology-pathophysiology, and treatment of status epilepticus. The first section is highlighted by an exceptional discussion of the classification of status and a practical approach to differentiating the various forms of nonconvulsive status epilepticus. The pathology and pathophysiology of status are discussed, primarily in relation to animal studies, but human data are presented as well. Topics include the relationship of electrical, biochemical, and receptor abnormalities to the propagation and clinical expression of status. The final section on the treatment of status epilepticus provides information on the "common" as well as the "not-so-common" agents used to treat this condition. The more standard drugs—phenytoin, diazepam, and barbiturates—are discussed in detail. This information is particularly important, given their widespread clinical use. Less commonly used drugs, such as valproate sodium, paraldehyde, general/barbiturate anesthesia