GENEVA – Up to 75% of people with epilepsy may be missing out on treatment, according to research published this month in the international public health journal, the Bulletin of the World Health Organization.
Around 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, a potentially serious neurological disorder which causes recurrent seizures that are sometimes accompanied by loss of consciousness. The study found a huge difference in the care of epilepsy patients between high- and low-income countries and between urban and rural settings.
„Epilepsy can be diagnosed and treated inexpensively,“ says co-author Dr Ana-Claire Meyer, a researcher at San Francisco General Hospital, in the United States of America. „Nonetheless, a vast majority of people with epilepsy in many resource-poor regions do not receive treatment.“
Without treatment, people with epilepsy can suffer psychological distress, physical injuries and social stigma. More than 70% of patients who are treated with anti-epileptic drugs are free from seizures within 5 years of diagnosis.
Read the paper here https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20431789/
The Bulletin of the World Health Organization is one of the world’s leading public health journals. It is the flagship periodical of the World Health Organization (WHO), with a special focus on developing countries. Articles are peer-reviewed and are independent of WHO guidelines.