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A Friend Of Mine Is Reporting A Cluster Of Symptoms
Question: A friend of mine is reporting a cluster of symptoms that begin with an acrid odor followed by feeling tired, heavy limbs and then becomes emotional, often tearful. The down mood lasts most of the day, but when it passes, he has racing thoughts and finds it hard to sleep. Recently having more nightmares and feelings of not being able to move. He had a choking episode at night this week.
Brief Answer:
Sounds like epilepsy affecting inner parts of the temporal lobe/lymbic lobe
Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome to Ask A Doctor service.
The lymbic lobe which consists of entorhinal cortex, cingulte gyrus, amygdala, hippocampus, para hippocampal gyrus is responsible for emotional processing and response, smell perception, memory functions among many other vital functions like thirst, hunger, sexual behaviors etc.
Any abnormal electrical activity (a paroxysmal electrical disturbance) in this region can present with all the symptoms your friend is experiencing.
And this needs further investigation in the form of MRI scan of the brain, if possible fMRI along with EEG or the brain during seizures, or video EEG.
Initial stages, the epileptic seizures may not spread to the rest of the brain so there may not be associated tonic or clonic movements of limbs.
I strongly urge you to take your friend to a epileptologist or neurologist and get him examined and undergo the suggested investigations to find out the exact location of epileptic focus.
I hope I have been able to help you to some degree, please feel free to write back to me if you have any doubts.
Wishing you and your friend a healthy life.
Warm regards
Sounds like epilepsy affecting inner parts of the temporal lobe/lymbic lobe
Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome to Ask A Doctor service.
The lymbic lobe which consists of entorhinal cortex, cingulte gyrus, amygdala, hippocampus, para hippocampal gyrus is responsible for emotional processing and response, smell perception, memory functions among many other vital functions like thirst, hunger, sexual behaviors etc.
Any abnormal electrical activity (a paroxysmal electrical disturbance) in this region can present with all the symptoms your friend is experiencing.
And this needs further investigation in the form of MRI scan of the brain, if possible fMRI along with EEG or the brain during seizures, or video EEG.
Initial stages, the epileptic seizures may not spread to the rest of the brain so there may not be associated tonic or clonic movements of limbs.
I strongly urge you to take your friend to a epileptologist or neurologist and get him examined and undergo the suggested investigations to find out the exact location of epileptic focus.
I hope I have been able to help you to some degree, please feel free to write back to me if you have any doubts.
Wishing you and your friend a healthy life.
Warm regards
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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