Epilepsy

1
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.

2
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.
3
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

4
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.

5

• I. A. General seizures
• initial stage
• tonic stage
• clonic stage
• recovery stage
• B. Without seizure attacks (Absentia epileptica)
• II. Focal attacks.

6
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).

7
TREATMENT FOR EPILEPSY

• Drug treatment
• Surgical treatment
• Complementary treatment

8

• 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