Epilepsy occurs at any age from infancy to old age. Perhaps in some countries where medical reports and demographs are scant, the incidence is even higher. It is associated with a higher rate of mortality due to the underlying brain conditions, injuries from the trauma of the seizures, status epilepticus, where one seizure follows another without time to recover, and suicides. The syndrome takes on many forms. The seizures can be as brief as a mental lapse or attention gap, muscle jerks or severe convulsions.
Timing is unpredictable.
They can come on once a year or daily. Treatments in the form of antiepileptic drugs in the developed world are readily available for control and in those, the prognosis is good. They can even be withdrawn after several years of use. Almost three-quarters of those treated respond well. The problem remains in those millions who have no access to medications and succumb to its ravages before their time.