The impact of epilepsy on the individual

The figure summarizes how epilepsy affects individuals throughout their life course. The review of the long-term outcomes for patients receiving treatment for epilepsy concluded that for the vast majority of people with new-onset epilepsy, the outlook is very good: most will become permanently seizure free on and off drugs, mostly within a few years of pharmacological treatment, and another important minority will have long periods of seizure remission interspersed with a few episodes.¹ In addition, social support for and attitudes towards people with epilepsy have improved in the past few decades.¹ However, challenges remain, since a substantial minority of patients have epilepsy that is resistant to treatment, and mortality and sudden unexplained death in epilepsy (SUDEP) are still major concerns.¹