People living with the condition have the same range of abilities and intelligence as the rest of the population. People with epilepsy shouldn t be in jobs of responsibility and stress. People with seizure disorders are found in all walks of life and at all levels in business, government, the arts and other professions. We aren t always aware of them because many people, even today, do not talk about having epilepsy for fear of what others might think. With today s medication, epilepsy is largely a solved problem.
Epilepsy is a chronic medical problem that for many people can be successfully treated.
Unfortunately, pharmaceutical treatment doesn t work for everyone and there s a critical need for more research. Epilepsy is rare and there aren t many people who have it. There are more than twice as many people with epilepsy in Canada as the number of people with cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis and cystic fibrosis combined. Epilepsy can occur as a single condition, or may accompany other conditions affecting the brain, such as cerebral palsy, mental retardation, autism, Alzheimer s disease, and traumatic brain injury. You can t die from epilepsy.