Epilepsy

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General Facts

  • As many as 3 - 5% of children will have a seizure sometime during childhood; if one of the child's parents has epilepsy then the risk is doubled.
  • Three fourths (3/4) of seizures begin prior to age 18
  • Depending upon age, 2 - 3% of normal children will have an abnormal EEG. Conversely, a normal EEG does not exclude the possibility that the child still may have seizures.
  • Epilepsy is controlled with anti-epileptic medication in 70-80% of children
  • The causes of epilepsies in children differ from those in adults
  • Most seizures in childhood (67%) are of an unknown cause.
  • The distribution of IQ scores in children with epilepsy is similar to that found in the children without any illness or disease
  • There is a higher rate of psychiatric problems in children with epilepsy compared to the general pediatric population.

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