Jan 06 2009
Who Is At Risk For Epilepsy ?
Nearly 2.7 million Americans are affected by epilepsy. This means that 9 out of every 1,000 Americans have the disease.
Although statistics show that men are more affected than women with epilepsy, everyone is susceptible to having epilepsy. It can happen to any body of any race at any age. However, people with certain conditions are at greater risk for epilepsy.
It can be recalled that in the twentieth century, some states in the United States banned the marriage of people for fear of transmitting the disease to their children. Some even had to go through sterilization to prevent reproduction. This is due to the widespread belief that epilepsy is 100 percent heritable. This practice was stopped only with the approval of the Disabilities Act.
And yet, although epilepsy is not necessarily hereditary members of the family of a person with epilepsy have a higher risk of developing the disease. The brothers of a child with epilepsy, for example, are more likely to develop the disorder. This is not due to epilepsy is contagious, but is due to the likelihood of a genetic tendency to develop epilepsy. Furthermore, epilepsy is more likely to occur in the siblings of children who suffer from generalized convulsions. In fact, about 4 to 10 percent of other children in the family develops epilepsy. But this still depends on the type of epilepsy and the number of family members affected.
In addition, parents of children with epilepsy are also at higher risk of developing epilepsy, set at 5 percent. The risk for children whose father has epilepsy is slightly higher for children whose mother has the disorder. However, the risk is even greater if both parents have epilepsy. Although genetics is a risk factor in the development of epilepsy, the risk is relatively low and should not be a cause for great alarm. Moreover, even if the children develop the disease, most of them finally overcome epilepsy when they become adults. Advances in modern medicine make it possible to control seizures.
Age is another factor in the development of epilepsy. Although the disorder can strike at any age, children are more susceptible. In fact, nearly 50 percent of all cases of epilepsy occur before the age of ten, while 30 percent of cases are those with 10-19 years of age. The remaining 13 percent are people aged 20-29, while ten per cent are aged 30 or over. Although children are at increased risk of developing the disease, tend to experience a reduction in the frequency and intensity of seizures as they grow into adulthood. Algunos incluso outgrew la enfermedad completamente.
In addition to genetic factors and age, people with certain conditions pose an increased risk of developing epilepsy. Studies confirm that up to 5 percent of the total world population may experience a seizure at one point in their lives. Half of the cases, however a clear cause are more likely to suffer a second arrest in six months. Having two of those seizures, 80 percent of which is epilepsy. Although the exact cause of epilepsy can not be pinpointed, there are known factors that twice as likely to develop epilepsy. Such risk factors include:
Babies who have seizures during their first month
Babies born with abnormal brain structures
Babies that are too small for gestational age
Cerebral hemorrhage or internal bleeding
Unstable or abnormal blood vessels in the brain
Brain Injury
Lack of oxygen to the brain
Cerebral Palsy
Brain infections such as abscesses, encephalitis and meningitis
Brain tumors
Mental illness
Stroke due to blockage of the arteries
Early posttraumatic seizures
Degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease
Drug abuse
Fever-related seizures
Despite finding the cause of epilepsy is almost impossible, the best thing one can do is avoid the so-called embargo triggers such as intoxication, nutritional deficiencies, OTC medications that reduce the effectiveness of the seizure of drugs, stress severe lack of sleep, drug abuse and loss of drugs.
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