Drop attack

A Drop attack is defined as a sudden fall without loss of consciousness. Drop attacks stem from diverse mechanisms including leg weakness and knee instability but have also been attributed to transient vertebrobasilar insufficiency, epilepsy and unstable vestibular function among other reasons. Those afflicted typically experience abrupt leg weakness, sometimes after sudden movement of the head. The weakness may persist for hours. The term drop attack is used to categorize otherwise unexplained falls encompassing a wide variety of etiology and is considered ambiguous medical terminology. Drop attacks are currently reported much less often than in the past, possibly as a result of better diagnostic precision.[1][2] In neurology, the term drop attack is used to describe certain types of seizure which occur in epilepsy.[3][4] Certain debilitating conditions associated with Ménière’s disease are also called drop attacks or Tumarkin drop attacks by some authors.[5][6][7]

References

  1. ↑ Rubenstein, L. Z. (1 September 2006). "Falls in older people: epidemiology, risk factors and strategies for prevention". Age and Ageing 35 (Supplement 2): ii37–ii41. doi:10.1093/ageing/afl084.
  2. ↑ Bisdorff, A; Von Brevern, M; Lempert, T; Newman-Toker, DE (2009). "Classification of vestibular symptoms: towards an international classification of vestibular disorders". Journal of vestibular research : equilibrium & orientation 19 (1–2): 1–13. doi:10.3233/VES-2009-0343 (inactive 2015-01-12). PMID 19893191.
  3. ↑ Zamponi, N.; Passamonti, C.; Cesaroni, E.; Trignani, R.; Rychlicki, F. (2011). "Effectiveness of vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) in patients with drop-attacks and different epileptic syndromes". Seizure 20 (6): 468–474. doi:10.1016/j.seizure.2011.02.011. PMID 21396833.
  4. ↑ Abd-El-Barr, Muhammad M.; Joseph, Jacob R.; Schultz, Rebecca; Edmonds, Joseph L.; Wilfong, Angus A.; Yoshor, Daniel (2010). "Vagus nerve stimulation for drop attacks in a pediatric population". Epilepsy & Behavior 19 (3): 394–399. doi:10.1016/j.yebeh.2010.06.044 (inactive 2015-01-12). PMID 20800554.
  5. ↑ Perez-Fernandez, Nicolas; Montes-Jovellar, Lourdes; Cervera-Paz, Javier; Domenech-Vadillo, Ester (2010). "Auditory and Vestibular Assessment of Patients with Ménière's Disease Who Suffer Tumarkin Attacks". Audiology and Neurotology 15 (6): 399–406. doi:10.1159/000310899. PMID 20389064.
  6. ↑ Ozeki, Hidenori; Iwasaki, Shinichi; Murofushi, Toshihisa (2008). "Vestibular drop attack secondary to Meniere's disease results from unstable otolithic function". Acta Oto-laryngologica 128 (8): 887–891. doi:10.1080/00016480701767390. PMID 18607945.
  7. ↑ Timmer, Ferdinand C. A.; Zhou, Guangwei; Guinan, John J.; Kujawa, Sharon G.; Herrmann, Barbara S.; Rauch, Steven D. (2006). "Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potential (VEMP) in Patients With M??ni??re???s Disease With Drop Attacks". The Laryngoscope 116 (5): 776–779. doi:10.1097/01.mlg.0000205129.78600.27. PMID 16652086.