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from Part II - Epilepsy diagnosis and treatment
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 November 2009
Dr Patricia Crumrine is Professor of Pediatric Neurology at the University of Pittsburgh. She is a specialist in childhood epilepsy and a former member of the Epilepsy Foundation's Professional Advisory Board.
In this chapter she deals with epilepsy in girls and young women, reviewing the common epilepsy syndromes, treatment challenges, and educational and social concerns.
MJMSeizures
Approximately 3.5% of all children will have experienced at least one seizure by the age of 15 years. However, only about 1% of children will develop epilepsy or recurrent seizures. Epilepsy arises most frequently during the first year of life. Its incidence (how many people develop the condition) remains high throughout childhood and adolescence and is higher in boys than in girls under the age of 10. Over the age of 10 years, there is not a significant difference between the frequency of development of epilepsy in boys and girls.
The cause of epilepsy is identifiable in only about 24% of childhood cases and is usually developmental. The medical evaluation may include an analysis of the blood cell count, hemoglobin, sugar, calcium, sodium, potassium, as well as other blood tests. The physician may also order an electroencephalogram (EEG), which is a test recording the electrical activity of brain cells. This test may predict the potential of having another seizure. Another possible test is a brain image, usually a magnetic resonance image (MRI) scan.
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