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ABOUT EPILEPSY

WHAT IS EPILEPSY?

Epilepsy is a recurrent, unprovoked seizure disorder in which the normal pattern of brain activity becomes disturbed, potentially causing among other things, loss of consciousness and muscle contractions. The inability to predict when a seizure may occur restricts many who face epilepsy in the personal freedoms many of us take for granted.

EPILEPSY STATISTICS

Epilespy is the number one neurological disorder of the U.S. and Canada. Given its prevalence, this is a disorder that will affect each of us in some way during our lifetimes:

  • More than 3 million people in the U.S./Canada and more than 50 million worldwide live with some form of epilepsy.
  • 200,000 new cases are diagnosed each year.
  • 10% of people will have a seizure in their lifetimes.
  • More than 350,000 children in the U.S. and Canada through age 15 have epilepsy.
  • 22% of stroke patients develop epilepsy.
  • By 20 years of age, 1% of the population can be expected to have developed epilepsy.
  • By 75 years of age, 3% of the population can be expected to have developed epilepsy.
  • Historical figures with epilepsy: Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Joan of Arc, Napoleon Bonaparte, Dante, Paganini, Charles Dickens, Byron, Lewis Carroll, Agatha Christie, Beethoven, Vincent Van Gogh, Isaac Newton, Alfred Nobel, among others.

TREATMENT/CURE

There is currently no cure for epilepsy. Treatments include antiepileptic drugs, brain surgery and a strictly prescribed ketogenic diet (a diet rich in fats and low in carbohydrates has reduced seizures in some children). Unfortunately, many medications produce undesirable side effects, surgery is a risky and not always possible option, and 20% of people do not respond to current treatment methods.

Epilepsy research is ongoing on many fronts. Areas include the identification of genes that may influence epilepsy with the goal of preventing it and predicting which treatments will be most beneficial for individuals. However, a search for more effective treatments and ultimately a cure comes at a cost. Your donation will continue to fund the research that may help someone you know or will know, and certainly, my Mom.

INFORMATION

For more information on epilepsy and available resources you can visit the following organizations:

United States: Canada:

Or, consult a local hospital for information regarding your local epilepsy foundation/society.