Epilepsy

• The prevalence of active epilepsy is 8.2 per 1 000 of the general population

• An annual incidence of epilepsy is 50 per 100 000 of the general population

• Around 50 million people in the world

(1 % of the general population) have epilepsy at any one time.

Epilepsy

is a chronic disorder, or group of chronic disorders, in which

the indispensable feature is recurrence of seizures that are

typically unprovoked and usually unpredictable.

What causes epilepsy?

• Inheritance - genetic low seizure threshold

• The injury of the brain (due to a road traffic accident, tumour, stroke or trauma at birth )

• An infection that affects the brain, such as meningitis or encephalitis

How is epilepsy diagnosed?

• Unlike most other neurological conditions, there may be no physical sign that a person has epilepsy when they are not having a seizure.

• Therefore the diagnosis is based on a history of more than one epileptic seizure.

• An eyewitness account may provide useful information in reaching an accurate diagnosis, as the person experiencing the seizure will not usually remember what has happened.

• I. A. General seizures

• initial stage • tonic stage • clonic stage • recovery stage

• B. Without seizure attacks (Absentia epileptica)

• II. Focal attacks.

Can epilepsy be treated?

• With the appropriate drug treatment, seizures can be completely controlled in up to 80% of people

• Some people continue to have seizures despite treatment. A small proportion of these people may benefit from neurosurgery (brain surgery).

TREATMENT FOR EPILEPSYTREATMENT FOR EPILEPSY

Drug treatmentDrug treatment

Surgical treatmentSurgical treatment

Complementary treatment Complementary treatment

• Epilepsy is the most common serious neurological condition.

• Anyone can develop epilepsy; it occurs in all ages, races and social classes.

• Labelling people as 'epileptics' on the basis of a medical diagnosis of epilepsy ignores the rest of their attributes and characteristics