Brief Description
Epidemiology is the study of the frequency and causes of health states in the population. The application of epidemiological techniques to the study of epilepsy began with the seminal work of Kurland in the 1950s (Kurland 1959). This early work not only provided the first estimates of the incidence and prevalence of epilepsy but also led to what would later because a highly successful operational definition of epilepsy which has become the standard used is just about all epidemiological studies around the world (Commission on Epidemiology and Prognosis and International League Against Epilepsy 1993).
Practical Issues in Clinical Practice
Diagnosis of epilepsy means adequate and accurate recognition of an epileptic seizure and being able to distinguish epileptic from nonepileptic events. There are repeated accounts of the misdiagnosis of nonepileptic seizures (Pellock 2006), arrhythmogenic heart disorders (Johnson et al. 2009), and other conditions as epilepsy as well...
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Carpio A (2002) Neurocysticercosis: an update. Lancet 2:751–762
Commission on Epidemiology and Prognosis, International League Against Epilepsy (1993) Guidelines for epidemiologic studies on epilepsy. Epilepsia 34:592–596
Johnson JN, Hofman N, Haglund CM, Cascino GD, Wilde AAM, Ackerman MJ (2009) Identification of a possible pathogenic link between congenital long QT syndrome and epilepsy. Neurology 72:224–231
Kurland LT (1959) The incidence and prevalence of convulsive disorders in a small urban community. Epilepsia 1:143–161
Mpimbaza A, Ndeezi G, Staedke S, Rosenthal PJ, Byarugaba J (2008) Comparison of buccal midazolam with rectal diazepam in the treatment of prolonged seizures in Ugandan children: a randomized clinical trial. Pediatrics 121:e58–64
Pellock JM (2006) Other nonepileptic paroxysmal disorders. In: Wyllie E, Gupta A, Lachhwani DK (eds) The treatment of epilepsy: principles and practice. Lipincott Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia, pp 631–642
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2010 Springer-Verlag London Limited
About this entry
Cite this entry
Berg, A.T. (2010). Epidemiology of Epilepsies: Overview. In: Panayiotopoulos, C.P. (eds) Atlas of Epilepsies. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84882-128-6_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84882-128-6_8
Publisher Name: Springer, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-84882-127-9
Online ISBN: 978-1-84882-128-6
eBook Packages: MedicineReference Module Medicine