Candlelight Concert for Epilepsy Awareness

Epilepsy affects over 3 million Americans of all ages – more than multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, and Parkinson’s disease combined.

Ten percent of the American population will experience a seizure in their lifetime.

Epilepsy can develop at any time of life, especially in early childhood and old age.

In 70 percent of new cases, the cause remains unknown.

In over thirty percent of patients, seizures cannot be controlled with treatment.

Uncontrolled seizures may lead to brain damage and death.

Epilepsy is the third most common neurological disorder in the United States after Alzheimer’s disease and stroke.It is equal in prevalence to cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease combined.

The leading non-medical problem confronting people with epilepsy is discrimination in education, employment and social acceptance.

It is estimated that up to 50,000 deaths occur annually in the U.S. from status epilepticus (prolonged seizures), Sudden Unexplained Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP), and other seizure-related causes such as drowning and other accidents.

Epilepsy affects 50,000,000 people worldwide.

Historically, epilepsy research has been under-funded. Federal dollars spent on research pale in comparison to those spent on other diseases, many of which affect fewer people than epilepsy.

The severe epilepsy syndromes of childhood can cause developmental delay and brain damage, leading to a lifetime of dependency and continually accruing costs—both medical and societal.

Almost 500 new cases of epilepsy are diagnosed every day in the United States.

The belief that people with epilepsy are violent is an unfortunate image that is both wrong and destructive. People with epilepsy have no greater tendency toward severe irritability and aggressive behaviors than do other people.

Epilepsy is not the same as mental illness and in fact, the majority of people with seizures do not develop mental health problems.

Single tonic-clonic seizures lasting less than 5-10 minutes are not known to cause brain damage or injury.

Most cases of epilepsy are not inherited, although some types are genetically transmitted (that is, passed on through the family). Most of these types are easily controlled with seizure medicines.

Epilepsy has nothing to do with curses, possession, or other supernatural processes, such as punishment for past sins. Like asthma, diabetes, and high blood pressure, epilepsy is a medical problem.

Epilepsy is not a single entity but a family of more than 40 syndromes.

Epilepsy strikes most often among the very young and the very old, although anyone can get it at any age. In the U.S., it currently affects more than 326,000 children under age fifteen and more than 90,000 of them have severe seizures that cannot be adequately treated.

Epilepsy imposes an annual economic burden of $15.5 billion on the nation in associated health care costs and losses in employment, wages, and productivity.

The mortality rate among people with epilepsy is two to three times higher than the general population and the risk of sudden death is 24 times greater.

Of major chronic medical conditions, epilepsy is among the least understood even though one in three adults knows someone with the disorder.

Lack of knowledge about proper seizure first aid exposes affected individuals to injury from unnecessary restraint and from objects needlessly forced into the mouth.

The leading non-medical problem confronting people with epilepsy is discrimination in education, employment and social acceptance.