Conference rusure::nintendo

    Thanks RJK!  I wish there was some way of finding out more about it from
    CNN.  I wonder who I would contact?  Maybe someone else will write in
    with some more info.
    
    Thanks again,
    Stephanie                                                           

    echoing .1 - 
    
    this "Nintendo epilepsy" syndrome is indeed medically documented.
    It has been referred to as "television epilepsy" as well. It will only
    affect people predisposed to this type of epilepsy - you can't "catch"
    it, or "cause" it to come up, it's just the way a rare segment of the
    population has their brain wired, and video games can trigger seizures
    in these people.
    
    There were a few ways to reduce the likelihood of an occurence of
    "Nintendo epilepsy". These were:
    
    - keeping a reasonable distance (at least 6 feet) from the television set,
      which isn't easy to get a child to do, but work at it.
    - reduce the brightness of the set so that the colors aren't so bright
      or vivid.
    - room lights should not be dimmed to the point where the television is
      the brightest source of light in the room.
    
    Play it safe, and try to follow these guidelines.
    
    Jack
    
    

    I certainly do not consider myself an expert on this subject but I did see
    a documentary (on PBS I think) that talked about epileptic seizures.  They
    mentioned that in some cases a rapidly flashing light, which is just what
    a video monitor is, can in some cases trigger the seizure.  To demonstrate
    this just wave your open hand in front of the screen and you'll see the 
    strobing effect of the blinking monitor.  

    The thoery is that the periodic stimulus to the optic nerves set off an 
    undampened oscillation in the whole nervous system thus created the 
    seizures.

    This is probalbly not much help to you but I though I would point out that
    it is not the Nintendo per se that is causing the problem.  As -.1 pointed
    out though, the Nintendo may be particularlly bad since you may stare
    intently at the screen for extended periods of time at short range.

                                            - Dave

    Thanks Dave!
    
    Every little tidbit of info help!  My family is grateful!
    
    Stephanie

  I would like to add my comments to this discussion.  My 11-year-old son
has a very mild form of epilepsy and the neurologist has not ruled out the
fact that it may have been triggered by my son's consumption of aspartame
6 years ago.  Tests showed that the mild seizures could be triggered by
light pulses of a certain frequency and colour.  The EEG's showed the results,
but a seizure was not always physically evidenced.

  I consider my son to be of above average intelligence and we've had our
Nintendo for over two years now.  Before that, he had an Atari-2600.  He beats
most new games in a day or two and there has been absolutely no sign of
seizures of ill effects associated with the game.  Now, this may be due to
the success of the medication that he has been taking since his condition was
diagnosed.

  We'll know more this summer when he goes off the medication for the first
time.  I watch for symptoms during Nintendo play.  It may be a very useful
test.

regards

Frank

    Thank you, Frank.  If you don't mind me asking--what kind of medication
    is your son on?  My brother has been taking Dilantin since all of this
    is happening and I hate the idea that he has to be on it.  He takes it
    at night and he ends up sleeping very late in the morning.  He is
    groggy at times because of it and it's pretty scary.  Since he has been
    taking the Dilantin he has had approximately 10 "petit mal" seizures.
    
    Steph 

    My wife is a surgical resident at Mass General and she has to
    religiously read the New England Journal of Medicine.  I seem to
    remember a couple of months ago she mentioned that there was an article
    on Nintendo Epilepsy.  If you want I could scurry around the house to
    try and find it.  Let me know.
    
    						Tim Garahan