There are many interesting facts about seizures and epilepsy that can best be explained using numbers. Patients often want very exact information, and for many important issues, research has yielded very precise quantification. The following is a list of interesting and important numbers pertinent to those with seizures:
1-2% of the world’s population has epilepsy
9% of people will have at least one seizure in their lifetime
If you have a first seizure in your life, what is the chance you will have a second seizure in the next two years?
- If neurological exam, EEG and MRI brain are normal: 25%
- If neurological exam, EEG and/or MRI are abnormal: may be > 40-50%
If you have had 2 or more seizures in your life, what is the chance that you will have more seizures?
- 70%
Percentage of patients with epilepsy who do NOT have an identified reason for their seizures (unknown category):
- 50 %
If you have the first seizure in your life, what is the percent chance your seizures will be completely controlled?
- First seizure medication: 50%
- Second seizure medication: 10%
- Third seizure medication and combination therapy: 3%
- Total percentage of patients who continue to have seizures despite > 3 seizure medication trials: 30%
The typical seizure lasts 30-60 seconds.
30 minutes: This is the duration of essentially continuous seizure activity required to meet criteria for status epilepticus. Status epilepticus is prolonged seizure activity that can be severe and even life-threatening.
Approximately 50 million people have epilepsy, worldwide.
3/4 of people in developing countries do not get the treatment that they need.
Dates are numbers (of course!). Here are some dates that are very important in the history of epilepsy:
- 11th century BC: Approximate date that the oldest known medical reference to epilepsy was written. It was written on two clay tablets found separately in Turkey and Iraq. The translation provides a clear description of seizure activity.
- 400 BC: Date Hippocrates wrote The Sacred Disease. This medical text was the first to describe seizures as coming from the brain. It should be noted that there is some controversy as to whether or not Hippocrates was the author of this important text
- 1857: Potassium bromide is introduced to treat seizures. This is the first scientifically validated seizure medication
- 1886: Modern era of epilepsy surgery begins: Sir Victor Horsley successfully performs brain surgery on a patient with focal seizures due to a depressed skull fracture.
- 1929: First EEG was used to record human brain waves.
LATEST UPDATE: 6/6/2011
Seizures By The Numbers - Infographic