The Epilepsy And Sickle Cell Biology Essay


Here is an illustration of how epilepsy can change the normal body temperature. Epilepsy can affect the normal body temperature, for example, during a prolonged convulsion, the person shakes excessively, and their body may indicate signs of: flushing, sweating and pilo-erection. During a seizure it may vary and often supplemented by sensations of warmth, coolness, or discomfort. Epilepsy can have an impact on your body temperature because of the convulsions which takes place during a partial seizure.

In addition, body temperature can also differ due to risk factors that can trigger the illness such as meningitis; for instance, meningitis is an inflammation in the body that has the ability to cause damage to the brain. As a result of meningitis correlation with the nervous system, the bacterial disease can affect the body and there can be a sequel of high body temperature.

I shall now explain how and why these changes occur; the central nervous system that controls the functions of the hypothalamus, which main role is to regulate human body temperature. The hypothalamus front section manages heat loss and the back section control heat growth. Therefore, transitions can happen when the body is under attack by inflammation and become activated through bacterial infection characterize by fever.

Lady using a tablet
Lady using a tablet


Essay Writers

Lady Using Tablet

Get your grade
or your money back

using our Essay Writing Service!

Essay Writing Service

Another reason why changes take place, seizures are involuntary response where your body shakes, while the muscle is tightened; it contracts to generate and increase body heat. The central nervous system transmits signals to the chemical receptors straight to the hypothalamus whose function is to detect changes within the body and correct the mechanism to a set point.

The normal body temperature can also, fluctuate throughout the day or even when a person is ill. The hypothalamus that stabilize the body temperature by maintaining the correct set point and signs of changes can be detected if the person's body temperature is above or below the average rate. The normal body temperature changes occur as our nervous system deals with the information and so may bring about a rapid response in the organism.


This is an example of how epilepsy may affect standard breathing rate; all through a seizure a personââ‚¬â„¢s brain activity does not function to its full potential. The response of body movements can affect breathing measurements, for example, during and after a tonic clonic seizure a person can stop breathing or they may find it difficult to breath. This involuntary response can cause respiratory changes such as breathing absence (apnoea).

Additionally, convulsion naturally triggers sensitive nervous movement, with increasing of the heart rate and blood pressure, although the physiological effects start or performance of organism reserve may prevail during partial seizures. A neurological disorder can change the observation of breathing by dyspnoea and apnoea. Also seizures can alter the respiratory rate pattern plus the quality of breathing by causing an airway blockage, as a result of this, breathing can be fluctuated by the airway obstruction causing both hypoventilation and hyperventilation.

I shall now give details of the changes that can arise during an epileptic seizure and how it affect breathing rate. The muscles that contract during a convulsion are utilising more oxygen; because of this reason the person is gasping for air. When you breathe in oxygen through the nose or mouth down the trachea along the bronchial airways into the lungs, the muscles around the rib cage that help us to breathe are contracting as we inhale and exhale. The diaphragm also contracts and relaxes as we breathe and the heart is working faster because of the convulsions. These take place since the heart fails to supply sufficient blood throughout the body, as a result of starved oxygen in the blood, the body will send a warning sign to the lungs to function more quickly to reimburse for the lack of oxygen. The lung will work attempt to compensate by working more rapidly and this will increase the respiration.

Also, when they begin to convulse which can increase an individual pulse rate. Therefore, the breathing rate and the pulse rate can be affected by this condition. For example, increase frequency of the heart beat around a seizure onset. Seizures typically activate sympathetic nervous activity, increasing the heart rate and blood pressure. Seizure-induced cardiovascular dysfunction and postictal depression of autonomic respiratory reflexes and cardiovascular function may contribute to sudden, unexplained death in epilepsy (Orrin Devinsky) [1] .


Lady using a tablet
Lady using a tablet


Writing Services

Lady Using Tablet

Always on Time

Marked to Standard

Order Now

I shall now explain how and why these changes occur with the heart/ pulse rate. These changes occur since epilepsy is a neurological condition, the brain will be affected and the nerves cells which send messages to another part of the body. The brain is the control centre for all bodily functions including emotions. When having a seizure your emotions can change the heart rate due to the fact of sympathetic nerves

In these kinds of situations, the sympathetic nervous system stimulates cardiac muscles to increase the heart rate, causes dilation of the bronchioles of the lungs (increasing oxygen intake), and causes dilation of blood vessels that supply the heart and skeletal muscles (increasing blood supply).The parasympathetic nervous system it reduces blood pressure and respiratory rates and conserves energy through relaxation and rest (, 2013) [2] .

Sickle cell

I shall now give an example as to why this disease changes the normal body temperature and distinguish reasons of these changes. Firstly, sickle cell anaemia is a hereditary haemoglobin disorder in which red blood cells grow strangely. As a result of having sickle cell anaemia can change body temperature due to exposure to infections. Individuals with sickle cell are more susceptible to develop infection such as meningitis and pneumonia. An exemplar, a person with sickle cell their immune system is fragile, hence their body's defence against foreign body does not function well. Whilst the body is under attack by antibodies, this can progress to body temperature rising; leading to pyrexia (fever). Finally, depression is also a symptom of sickle cell and this can have an impact on your body temperature, because of the fight or flight response you receive when encountering fear, your body obtains rapid changes in the body temperature.

Another explanation of how these changes occur is that the body temperature is ultimately regulated in the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus produces a general response to make the body return to its normal trying to maintain homeostasis. Body temperature increase because of the symptom characterizes by the illness. Signs of fever can increase temperature above the normal range of 37.5â-Â¦ C. This reason is people with sickle cell are more susceptible to infection to infection that may cause body temperature to elevate. Body temperature can be increased by many different conditions ranging from mild to feasible serious diagnostic.

Here is an explanation of how sickle cell can change breathing rate. People with sickle cell are more vulnerable to infections such as pneumonia. When the person's body become inflamed by the infection, they can experience multiple indications like chest pain, strenuous breathing and extreme high temperature. The sickle cell illness can cause alteration in the normal breathing rate because of the associated symptom that can affect the way we breathe. For instance, symptom such as pneumonia which develops from bacteria that enter the lungs, it then later progresses onto blocked the air sacs (alveoli) with substance. What's more, when your cells require more energy they will utilize more oxygen; because of this reason your breathing rate increases Zeischegg (2008).

Sickle cell

It can be said that sickle cell most common signs are infections, however, due to virus contamination, the lungs air sacs (alveoli) can become inflamed and this can lead to obstruction of the airways. Moreover, since the airway passage happens to blocked, the body is not getting enough oxygen. Additionally, if the body does not receive enough oxygen, the body will exploit more energy, also if the cells require extra power they will use up more oxygen and this is why your breathing rate increases Zeischegg (2008). Reason is the lungs are unable to deliver sufficient amount of oxygen to the other cells as a result of this you have an unstable diffusion.

Anaemia is the most common symptom of sickle cell. It is known to cause increased heart rate due to the lack of oxygen supply by the red blood cells. You can have rapid heart rate and sounds of unusual heartbeat. For example, if the body does not get enough oxygenated blood this can cause exhaustion and increase damage to the heart.

Lady using a tablet
Lady using a tablet

This Essay is

a Student's Work

Lady Using Tablet


Examples of our work

The human body needs iron to make haemoglobin, which transports oxygen from the lungs to other parts of the body including tissues and organs. Iron is a mineral that assists the body muscles to retain and make use of energy. Heart rate is notably affected by anaemia, (tachycardia) increased heart rate is one of the most common symptoms of iron deficiency (anaemia).

I shall give reasons as to why and how these changes transpire. Firstly, these changes occur because there are smaller quantity of red blood cells available to transport the suitable amount of oxygen to the body's tissues and organs. Moreover, every red blood cell brings a reduced amount of oxygen to the cells, the heart pumps more rapidly to circulate the accessible red blood cells more swiftly throughout the system to maintain the cells alive. Along with an increased resting heart rate, anaemia also causes a long-lasting, high pulse rate when put into effect.