The statistics are stark and sobering— and for the uninitiated (which is to say most of us), startling. Epilepsy in America is as common as breast cancer, and takes as many lives. A mysterious and widely misunderstood affliction, epilepsy is a disorder in which the brain produces sudden bursts of electrical energy that can interfere with a person's consciousness, movements or sensations. Up to 50,000 Americans die each year from seizures and related causes, including drownings and other accidents; one in 10 people will suffer a seizure in their lifetimes. By some estimates, the mortality rate for people with epilepsy is two to three times higher—and the risk of sudden death is 24 times greater—than that of the general population. There are 200,000 new cases each year, and a total of more than 3 million Americans are affected by it—more than multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy and Parkinson's disease combined. Between 1 and 3 percent of the population will develop some form of epilepsy before age 75.
To read on, click on this link: http://www.newsweek.com/id/193484
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