Epilepsy can often be confirmed with an EEG, but a normal test does not rule out the condition.Epilepsy that occurs as a result of other issues may be preventable. Seizures are controllable with medication in about 69% of cases; inexpensive anti-seizure medications are often available. In those whose seizures do not respond to medication; surgery, neurostimulation or dietary changes may then be considered. Not all cases of epilepsy are lifelong, and many people improve to the point that treatment is no longer needed.As of 2020, about 50 million people have epilepsy. Nearly 80% of cases occur in the developing world. In 2015, it resulted in 125,000 deaths, an increase from 112,000 in 1990. Epilepsy is more common in older people. In the developed world, onset of new cases occurs most frequently in babies and the elderly. In the developing world, onset is more common in older children and young adults due to differences in the frequency of the underlying causes. About 5–10% of people will have an unprovoked seizure by the age of 80, with the chance of experiencing a second seizure rising to between 40% and 50%. In many areas of the world, those with epilepsy either have restrictions placed on their ability to drive or are not permitted to drive until they are free of seizures for a specific length of time. The word epilepsy is from Ancient Greek ἐπιλαμβάνειν, "to seize, possess, or afflict". Signs and symptoms
Epilepsy is characterized by a long-term risk of recurrent epileptic seizures.
As late as in the second half of the 20th century, in Tanzania and other parts of Africa epilepsy was associated with possession by evil spirits, witchcraft, or poisoning and was believed by many to be contagious. In the Salpêtrière, the birthplace of modern neurology, Jean-Martin Charcot found people with epilepsy side by side with the mentally ill, those with chronic syphilis, and the criminally insane. In ancient Rome, epilepsy was known as the morbus comitialis (disease of the assembly hall) and was seen as a curse from the gods. In northern Italy, epilepsy was once traditionally known as Saint Valentines malady. In at least the 1840s in the United States of America, epilepsy was known as the falling sickness or the falling fits, and was considered a form of medical insanity. Around the same time period, epilepsy was known in France as the haut-mal (high evil), mal-de terre (earthen sickness), mal de Saint Jean (Saint Johns sickness), mal des enfans (child sickness), and mal-caduc (obsolete sickness). Patients of epilepsy in France were also known as tombeurs, or people who fall, due to the seizures and loss of consciousness in an epileptic episode.In the mid-19th century, the first effective anti-seizure medication, bromide, was introduced. The first modern treatment, phenobarbital, was developed in 1912, with phenytoin coming into use in 1938. Society and culture
Stigma
Stigma is commonly experienced, around the world, by those with epilepsy. It can affect people economically, socially and culturally. In India and China, epilepsy may be used as justification to deny marriage.