How common are the "common" neurologic disorders? Neurology , 68 5 NINDS, Seizures and Epilepsy: Hope through research. IOM Institute of Medicine , Epilepsy Across the Spectrum: Promoting health and understanding. Seizures and epilepsy: Hope through research. Zack MM, Kobau R. Authored By:.
Authored Date:. Reviewed By:. Wednesday, March 19, Our Mission The mission of the Epilepsy Foundation is to lead the fight to overcome the challenges of living with epilepsy and to accelerate therapies to stop seizures, find cures, and save lives. Search form. About epilepsy and seizures Epilepsy is a neurological condition - which means it affects the brain. It is also a physical condition, because the body is affected when someone has a seizure.
Epilepsy is described as the tendency to have repeated seizures that start in the brain. Epilepsy is usually only diagnosed after the person has had more than one seizure. The Greek philosopher Hippocrates BC was the first person to think that epilepsy starts in the brain.
Seizures happen when there is a sudden interruption in the way the brain normally works. In between seizures the brain functions normally. Epilepsy is a variable condition that affects different people in different ways. There are over 40 different types of seizure. What seizures look like can vary. So not all seizures involve shaking. Some people are unconscious during their seizures and so they do not remember what happens to them.
It can be really useful to have a description of what happened from someone who saw their seizure to help with diagnosis. Different epilepsies are due to many different underlying causes.
The causes can be complex, and sometimes hard to identify. Sometimes a cause for epilepsy can be found for example a person may start having seizures due to a brain injury or there may be a genetic tendency. Some researchers now believe that the chance of developing epilepsy is probably always genetic to some extent.
Epilepsy statistics. One in 20 people will have a one-off epileptic seizure at some point in their life although this does not necessarily mean that they have epilepsy. One in 50 people will have epilepsy at some time in their life not everyone with epilepsy will have it for life.
Around 87 people are diagnosed with epilepsy every day. The origin of these seizures is unknown. They manifest by sudden extension or flexion of the extremities. Moreover, they can reoccur in clusters. This comes out to about 3. Additionally, about 1 in 26 people will develop epilepsy at some point during their lifetime.
Epilepsy can begin at any age. Luckily, according to the Child Neurology Foundation, about 50 to 60 percent of children with seizures will eventually grow out of them and never experience seizures as an adult. Worldwide, a quarter of all newly diagnosed cases of epilepsy are in children. Of the more than 3 million Americans with epilepsy , , cases are children.
Children account for 6. According to the Child Neurology Foundation :. Researchers have a hard time pegging race as a significant cause for epilepsy. However, consider this information from the Epilepsy Foundation :.
Overall, no gender is more likely to develop epilepsy than the other. For example, a study found that symptomatic epilepsies were more common in men than women. Idiopathic generalized epilepsies, on the other hand, were more common among females. Any differences that might exist can likely be attributed to biological differences in the two genders, as well as hormonal changes and social function. There are a number risk factors that give you a higher chance of developing epilepsy.
These include:. Having epilepsy increases your risk for certain complications. Some of these are more common than others. A seizure can cause loss of awareness and affect your ability to control a car. You could injure yourself or others if you have a seizure while driving.
People with epilepsy are reportedly 15 to 19 times more likely to drown than the rest of the population. Some people may have multiple types of seizures or other medical conditions in addition to epilepsy. The way a seizure looks depends on the type of seizure a person is experiencing.
Some seizures can look like staring spells. Many times the cause is unknown. Some causes include:. A person with epilepsy is not contagious and cannot give epilepsy to another person. Read answers to common questions about epilepsy. This is about 3.
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