This site is intended for healthcare professionals
Epilepsy
Disease page

Epilepsy

Read time: 5 mins
Last updated: 5th Mar 2024

Epilepsy is a chronic heterogenous condition in which patients experience recurrent and seemingly unprovoked seizures. Epilepsy is a common condition with about 46 million people worldwide suffering active epilepsy. Despite being common, classifying, diagnosing and treating epilepsy can be difficult.

Paediatric epilepsy treatment focuses on managing clinical seizures and the optimal use of current anti-epileptic drugs (AED) may allow more patients to reduce or attain freedom from seizures. While there is an abundance of choice in AEDs, treatment is most effective when AED activity is matched to seizure type which necessitates accurate seizure classification.

The use of AEDs is ineffective in around one-third of adult epilepsy cases and so alternative methods of treating drug-resistant epilepsy are available. These include surgery, neuromodulation and a ketogenic diet.

Welcome:

Related Journal Articles