5889 Greenwood Plaza Blvd, Suite 404 !

Greenwood Village, CO 80111

MEDIA CONTACT:
Susan Hagar
hagarcomm@comcast.net
720.935.1777
ABOUT EPILEPSY

Epilepsy is a medical condition that produces seizures affecting a variety of mental and
physical functions. Its also sometimes referred to as a seizure disorder. When a person has
two or more unprovoked seizures, they are considered to have epilepsy.

In Colorado, more than 50,000 men, women and children are living with epilepsy.

Nearly 3 million people in the U.S. have some form of epilepsy. About 200,000 new cases of
seizure disorders and epilepsy are diagnosed each year. One in 10 adults will have a seizure
sometime during their life, and about one in 26 will be diagnosed with epilepsy.

While medications and other treatments help many people of all ages who live with epilepsy, more
than a million people continue to have seizures that can severely limit their school achievements,
employment prospects and participation in all of life's experiences. It strikes most often among the
very young and the very old, although anyone can develop epilepsy at any age. In the U.S., it affects
more than 300,000 children under the age of 15--more than 90,000 of whom have seizures that
cannot be adequately treated.

Epilepsy is the fourth most common neurological disorder in the U.S. after migraine, stroke,
and Alzheimer's disease. Its prevalence is greater than autism spectrum disorder, cerebral
palsy, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease combined. Despite how common it is and
major advances in diagnosis and treatment, epilepsy is among the least understood of major
chronic medical conditions, even though one in three adults knows someone with the
disorder.

A seizure happens when a brief, strong surge of electrical activity affects part or all of the
brain. Seizures can last from a few seconds to a few minutes. They can have many symptoms,
from convulsions and loss of consciousness to some that are not always recognized as
seizures by the person experiencing them or by health care professionals: blank staring, lip
smacking, or jerking movements of arms and legs.

OFFICE: 303-377-9774

FAX: 303-377-0081 ! www.epilepsycolorado.org

An independently incorporated affiliate of the Epilepsy Foundation