Epilepsy in Soldiers With Brain Injuries
With the War in Iraq technically over, many veterans are returning home.
The American Academy of Neurology reports Soldiers With Brain Injuries are at Higher Risk Of Epilepsy Years after Returning Home.
The new research is published in the July 20, 2010, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, entitled correlates of posttraumatic epilepsy 35 years following combat brain injury (cme). - Raymont, V., Salazar, A.M., Lipsky, R., Goldman, D., Tasick, G., Grafman, J.. Pages: 224-229.
This is certainly consistent with what I have posted about previously including previous studies and articles. We have known for years that traumatic brain injury increases the chance of developing epilepsy.
Epilepsy is a general term for conditions with recurring seizures. There are many kinds of seizures, but all involve abnormal electrical activity in the brain that causes an involuntary change in body movement or function, sensation, awareness, or behavior. Epilepsy can be caused by many different conditions that affect a person’s brain. Examples of these conditions include stroke, head trauma, complications during childbirth, infections (such as meningitis, encephalitis, cysticercosis, or brain abscess), and certain genetic disorders. Often, no definite cause can be found.
Epilepsy affects an estimated 2.5 million people in the United States and each year accounts for $15.5 billion in direct costs (medical) and indirect costs (lost or reduced earnings and productivity). More than one-third of people with epilepsy continue to have seizures despite treatment.
Each year, about 200,000 new cases of epilepsy are diagnosed in the United States. Children younger than age 2 years and adults older than age 65 are most likely to be affected. In addition, people of low socioeconomic status, those who live in urban areas, and members of some minority populations are at increased risk for epilepsy.
