Epilepsy

Epilepsy: Did you know?

Epilepsy is as common as diabetes. More than 450,000 people in the UK have epilepsy,
75,000 (one in 200) of these are young children. Fifteen percent of these are considered to have significant problems.

Epilepsy is a common brain disorder characterised by reoccurring seizures. However, in its

severe form it can include developmental delay, emotional, behavioural, communication and mobility problems.

Epilepsy is not selective - it can affect anyone at any time. One person in 200 will develop epilepsy at some time in their life. One in 20 will have a
single seizure. Although epilepsy can develop at any age, it is diagnosed most often before the age of 20 and after the age of 60. It is not always a life long condition.

Anti-epileptic medication is given to patients once they have been diagnosed. In 70 per cent
of patients, this treatment will control seizures. Surgery can help the 10 per cent of people with epilepsy whose seizures do not respond to medication - but in the majority only if the precise location of the epileptic activity can be located.

Historically, epilepsy has been hugely misunderstood and stigmatised. This stigma still
exists to a great extent today. For example, cases of people having seizures in the street who have been ignored by passers believing they are drunk, is not uncommon.

Childhood epilepsy is a potentially preventable cause of disability. A diagnosis is made on the basis of two or more epileptic seizures. A seizure is triggered by
a sudden interruption in the brain's highly complex electro-chemical activity.

Seizures are symptoms of a physical problem within the brain - epilepsy is not a mental
illness. There is no correlation between epilepsy and levels of intelligence.

There are two types of seizures-'Partial seizures' that begin in one part of the brain, and then
may spread to affect other parts, and 'Generalised seizures' that start in both sides of the brain at once.

The National Centre for Young People with Epilepsy (NCYPE) runs a national assessment
service in collaboration with GOSH to improve accurate diagnosis and treatment of young people with epilepsy.

The NHS has recently announced that epilepsy will be the subject of a National Service
Framework (NSF) - significant recognition at last that it is a major condition deserving of more attention and investment in the NHS.

GOSH is working closely with the NHS to help the development of the NSF.

Useful websites:
National Society for Epilepsy: www.epilepsysociety.org.uk

The National Centre for Young People with Epilepsy (NCYPE) http://www.ncype.org.uk/epilepsy

http://www.ich.ucl.ac.uk/pressoffice/feature/epilepsy/ep_didyouknow.html