how familiar are you with this condition
welcome to mismo Jo's top five facts in
today's installment we're counting down
the top 5 facts about epilepsy come
along as we take a closer look at this
common neurological disorder I've never
spoken about this before I was born
epileptic and I used to have seizures
when I was young before we begin we
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content number 5 people can experience
many different types of seizures sort of
amazing what we don't know about
seizures it's it's it's much more than
we do now when you hear the word
epilepsy most people jump to the mental
image of convulsions but that particular
physical reaction isn't universal
seizures can actually result in a wide
variety of bodily responses epileptic
seizures break down into two broad
categories focal and generalized focal
seizures affect a particular area of the
brain and often involve subtler symptoms
depending on the subtype while
generalized seizures impact both sides
of the brain the way I conceive of
seizures is that they are essentially a
fire in the brain generalized seizures
break down into six subtypes some of
which result in violent movement taking
into account the many subcategories and
variants some scientists consider there
to be as many as 40 different types of
seizures number four there are a number
of factors involved anything that
disrupts the normal balance of function
in the brain can lead to seizures
epilepsy affects a significant portion
of the population in the u.s. we're
talking about one out of every 100
people globally estimates are in the
ballpark of 50 million individuals there
is no single simple answer to the
question of what causes epilepsy what
has been identified however are a number
of variables that can contribute
epilepsy can develop at any stage of
life but it commonly manifests during
childhood or old age though it affects
people of all ethnicities individuals of
Hispanic descent appear to be more
susceptible head injuries strokes family
history dementia and brain infections
have all been shown to increase the risk
number three there is no cure but they
our treatment options right now we're we
attempt to develop treatments for
epilepsy it's mostly a guessing game
though a single injection pill or
procedure would be ideal no such cure is
available to those living with epilepsy
thankfully there are treatments
available and the good news is they're
considered highly effective with
prescription drugs the incidence of
epileptic seizures can in an estimated
70% of cases be significantly reduced if
not eliminated completely though these
drugs cannot cure the root cause of
epilepsy they have eliminated seizures
and many patients who after years of
treatment without seizures are able to
go off the medication without seeing
their symptoms returned this is the case
for roughly 50% of patients for whom the
medication was successful number two too
few people have access to treatment
roughly 40 million of epilepsy sufferers
live in relative poverty as in the case
with many medical conditions epilepsy is
more likely to affect lower-income
people whether in richer countries or
developing nations not only are the less
fortunate at greater risk but should
they develop the condition they have
significantly less access to proper
treatment
even when anti-seizure medications are
made available the high cost of
treatment effectively places it beyond
the reach of the vast majority of those
affected number one though uncommon it
can result in sudden death epilepsy is
not thought of as a fatal condition
however said an unexpected death in
epilepsy or su death is estimated to
claim the lives of 1.3 out of every 1000
people living with epilepsy annually the
scientific community has struggled to
definitively understand why but the
working theory is that the intensity of
epileptic seizures creates
cardiovascular respiratory and cerebral
issues stemming from changes in brain
function in addition to sudha epilepsy
can also claim lives in the form of
unexpected seizures drowning car
accidents and potentially lethal Falls
are all serious risks so which of these
facts did you find most interesting
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