Color Changes In TV Cartoons Cause Seizures
A rash of epileptic seizures triggered by a television cartoon has pinpointed a new type of epilepsy, according to a report in this month's Annals of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Neurological Association and the Child Neurology Society.
One evening in Japan in 1997, at precisely 6:50 in the evening, 685 people, most of them children, simultaneously suffered epileptic seizures. The culprit was not difficult to identify: all were watching the popular animated TV show, "Pocket Monsters."
Japanese researchers have now found evidence that the seizures were provoked by rapid changes of blue and red in the background of the cartoons.
Flickering lights such as strobe lights or even the images on a television or video screen are well known as triggers for epileptic seizures. Patients who experience such seizures are said to suffer from photosensitive epilepsy.
Rapid light/dark changes or alternating high-contrast patterns cause nerve cells in the brain to fire electrical impulses more rapidly than usual. In people with photosensitive epilepsy, the resulting "electrical storm" in the brain can lead to muscular convulsions or loss of consciousness.
Although photosensitive epilepsy is not a new phenomenon, the events in Japan appear to be unprecedented.
"This may be the world's largest simultaneous occurrence of photosensitive symptoms in children provoked by viewing a TV program. Therefore, the seizures were considered to be triggered by a single uniform visual stimulus," said Shozo Tobimatsu, M.D., a neurologist at Kyushu University in Japan and one of the authors of the article.
Tobimatsu and his colleagues studied 4 boys who had suffered seizures during the cartoon. Like many others, they were not known to suffer from epilepsy, although some had a family history of epilepsy.
The researchers measured brain wave responses as the boys watched the cartoon in color or in black and white. They found that only 2 of the boys were sensitive to light/dark changes, but that all 4 boys had abnormal, epilepsy-like brain changes when exposed to the color version of the cartoon.
Because the cartoon had a flickering blue and red background, the researchers also showed the boys rapidly alternating blue and red images.
"Rapid color changes between blue and red in the cartoon were clearly the most important factor compared with color changes of other kinds and flickering light," said Tobimatsu.
These results, combined with a report last year of color-induced seizures in Great Britain, led the Japanese team to propose a new subcategory of photosensitive epilepsy called chromatic sensitive epilepsy.
Other authors of the report were You Min Zhang, M.D., and Motohiro Kato, M.D., also of Kyushu University; and Yasuko Tomoda, M.D., and Akihisa Mitsudome, M.D., of Fukuoka University.
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The above post is reprinted from materials provided by American Neurological Association. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
Watching cartoons helps children undergoing immunization
Watching cartoons can reduce pain and distress in children undergoing immunization before, during and after the procedure, a study in Italy has found.
The randomized controlled trial, reported in the journal Nursing Children and Young People, looked at two groups of six-year-old children.
The experimental group consisted of children who underwent immunization while distracted by watching cartoons.
Before the procedure, the child was placed in front of a laptop computer and asked to concentrate on watching the cartoon of their choice, which was either Cinderella or Toy Story.
The control group consisted of children who underwent immunization and a standard technique of verbal distraction by experienced nurses.
The distress of the children was measured on an amended observation scale of behavioral distress and pain was recorded on the Wong-Baker FACES pain rating scale, a visual-numerical scale.
The researchers said results showed that levels of distress were lower in children distracted with cartoons, compared with those distracted using the standard procedure. They added that these results concurred with previous studies, especially in showing that children younger than seven years typically report more distress and pain from needles than older children.
All children undergoing the immunization procedure received two injections, the first subcutaneously and the second intramuscularly.
The level of distress was lower in the group distracted by watching cartoons during both injections. In particular, the levels of distress detected after the subcutaneous injection and during the intramuscular injection were lower to a statistically significant degree, and were marginally significant after intramuscular injection.
'From an organizational point of view, it would be appropriate to provide a structured setting, equipped with all the tools necessary to implement strategies of distraction -- particularly the use of cartoons -- during invasive procedures,' the authors said.
'The use of a simple procedure that is easily and economically executed can enable nurses to ensure that children's first contacts with the health service are positive experiences, and help decrease the number of patients who may develop pre-procedural anxiety or needle phobia, leading them to refuse to undergo medical procedures in adulthood.'
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The above post is reprinted from materials provided by RCNi. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
Cartoons reduce anxiety in children undergoing anesthesia, study finds
Letting children watch a favorite cartoon is an effective and safe way to reduce anxiety before anesthesia and surgery, concludes a study in the November issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS).
"Cartoon distraction" is an "inexpensive, easy to administer, and comprehensive" technique for reducing anxiety in young children before induction of anesthesia, according to the new research, led by Dr Joengwoo Lee of Chonbuk National University Hospital, South Korea.
Cartoons Reduce Preoperative Anxiety
The study evaluated the use of cartoons to reduce anxiety in 130 children, aged three to seven, undergoing routine surgical procedures -- most commonly tonsillectomy. In a holding area, one group of patients were allowed to choose an animated movie to watch before induction of anesthesia. The children watched the movie on a tablet or laptop computer; a "Power Rangers" cartoon was the most popular choice.
Another group of children were asked to bring a favorite toy, which they were allowed to play with before induction. A third group received no special treatment. Measures of anxiety -- as rated by the parents and judged by the child's behavior -- were compared among groups.
In the holding area, anxiety scores were lower for the children who played with a favorite toy. However, after the children were moved to the operating room, anxiety was lowest for the children who watched cartoons.
According to both parent ratings and behavioral measures, only a few children in the cartoon group had increased anxiety once they went into the operating room. In contrast, nearly all of the children in the other groups had higher anxiety scores in the operating room. Anxiety was rated low or absent for 43 percent of children who watched cartoons, compared to 23 percent of those who brought a toy and seven percent with neither treatment.
Many techniques have been tried to reduce preoperative anxiety in children, with inconsistent results. Treatment with a sedative (midazolam) is probably the most common approach, but this drug has the potential for side effects.
Dr. Lee and colleagues thought watching cartoons might provide a simple way of alleviating anxiety before anesthesia by distracting the children. They write, "Preschool children generally enjoy watching animated cartoons , and they can become sufficiently engrossed to their surroundings and disregard verbal and tactile stimuli." Playing with a familiar toy may be comforting as well.
The results suggest that letting children watch cartoons "is a very effective method to alleviate preoperative anxiety," according to Dr Lee and colleagues. By providing children with a distraction during preparations for anesthesia and surgery, cartoons are an "inexpensive, easy to administer, and comprehensive method for anxiety reduction."
It may seem like a small matter to reduce anxiety by showing children cartoons. But anxiety before surgery can be a significant problem, causing emotional trauma for both the parents and children. In some cases, preoperative anxiety can lead to lasting behavioral problems, such as separation anxiety, aggressiveness, and nightmares.
The study confirms what many parents already know, according to an editorial by Drs Franklyn P. Cladis and Peter J. Davis of University of Pittsburgh: "Trying to interact with our children when "Cars" or "SpongeBob" is on television is futile." Distracting children by letting them "tune into their favorite alternative realities" seems to lower anxiety responses to surgery. Drs Cladis and Davis note that more research would be needed to determine whether reduced anxiety at induction leads to fewer behavioral problems after surgery.
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The above post is reprinted from materials provided by International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS). Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.