Racine stages
Encyclopedia
Racine stages are a categorization of epileptic seizures proposed by Ronald J. Racine.
In the kindling model of epilepsy
, the brain
receives electrical shocks or chemical injections to induce acute
seizures. With repetition, these seizures become chronic
and generally do not occur spontaneously (Vezzani and Hoyer 1999), creating a useful animal model within which to study epilepsy. The induced seizures are of various strength and character. In 1972, Ronald J. Racine divided these seizures into five categories.:
In the kindling model of epilepsy
Epilepsy
Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by seizures. These seizures are transient signs and/or symptoms of abnormal, excessive or hypersynchronous neuronal activity in the brain.About 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, and nearly two out of every three new cases...
, the brain
Brain
The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...
receives electrical shocks or chemical injections to induce acute
Acute (medicine)
In medicine, an acute disease is a disease with either or both of:# a rapid onset, as in acute infection# a short course ....
seizures. With repetition, these seizures become chronic
Chronic (medicine)
A chronic disease is a disease or other human health condition that is persistent or long-lasting in nature. The term chronic is usually applied when the course of the disease lasts for more than three months. Common chronic diseases include asthma, cancer, diabetes and HIV/AIDS.In medicine, the...
and generally do not occur spontaneously (Vezzani and Hoyer 1999), creating a useful animal model within which to study epilepsy. The induced seizures are of various strength and character. In 1972, Ronald J. Racine divided these seizures into five categories.:
- Mouth and facial movement
- Head nodding
- Forelimb clonusClonusClonus is a series of involuntary muscular contractions and relaxations. Clonus is a sign of certain neurological conditions, and is particularly associated with upper motor neuron lesions such as in stroke, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord damage and hepatic encephalopathy...
- Rearing with forelimb clonus
- Rearing and falling with forelimb clonus (generalized motor convulsions)