Can a metabolic disorder cause a child to have a seizure?
23rd June 1999 Yes – neurons are extremely sensitive to changes in the internal environment and changes outside the normal homeostatic range in a metabolism-related parameter might trigger a seizure. (A seizure is a transient change in brain activity associated with the disordered generation of nerve impulses in sets of neurons, particularly in the cortex of the brain.) So for example, a drop in blood calcium levels – perhaps as a result of diminished secretion of parathyroid hormone – can trigger a seizure.
