Some Facts about Epilepsy 1 in 20 people have a seizure at some time in their lives. Approximately 100 people every day in the U.K. are newly diagnosed as having epilepsy. Slightly more males than females have epilepsy. First seizures are twice as common over the age of 65 than between the ages of 25 and 64.
Someone is said to have epilepsy if they have repeated seizures of primary cerebral origin.
It was first believed that epilepsy was caused by a build up of phlegm in the brain and the first epilepsy surgery was achieved by boring a small triangular hole in the skull to create a drain for the phlegm. The Fathers of Neurology, Dr Hughlings Jackson, Dr Gowers and Dr Ferrier were also amongst the founders of the National Society for Epilepsy in the 1890s. The first drug to be used in the treatment of epilepsy was potassium bromide. Of the 300,000 people with epilepsy in the UK, only a very few per cent are photosensitive.