The client is prescribed phenobarbital for seizure control. The client asks the nurse how this little pill can stop seizures. What response by the nurse is the most appropriate?
1. "The pill helps to decrease the calcium in your brain, which is responsible for your seizures."
2. "This medication increases a chemical called GABA that calms down the excitability in your brain that causes your seizures."
3. "Phenobarbital increases a chemical called glutamate, which calms down the excitability in your brain that causes your seizures."
4. "It helps by decreasing the sodium in your brain, which is responsible for the seizures."
Correct Answer: 2
Rationale 1: Succinimides, not phenobarbital, suppress calcium influx.
Rationale 2: Phenobarbital acts biochemically in the brain by enhancing the action of the neurotransmitter GABA, which is responsible for suppressing abnormal neuronal discharges that can cause epilepsy.
Rationale 3: Glutamate is the primary excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain; enhancing this neurotransmitter will increase the likelihood of seizures.
Rationale 4: Hydantoins and phenytoin-like drugs, not phenobarbital, suppress sodium influx.
Global Rationale: Phenobarbital acts biochemically in the brain by enhancing the action of the neurotransmitter GABA, which is responsible for suppressing abnormal neuronal discharges that can cause epilepsy. Succinimides, not phenobarbital, suppress calcium influx. Glutamate is the primary excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain; enhancing this neurotransmitter will increase the likelihood of seizures. Hydantoins and phenytoin-like drugs, not phenobarbital, suppress sodium influx
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