Less than half of patients with active epilepsy in the United States
are informed by their doctors about treatment options, according to a
survey by the American Epilepsy Society and the Epilepsy Foundation.
Asking people who have partial seizures how often they have seizures
does not appear to provide an accurate count, according to a report in
the journal Archives of Neurology.
A new guideline developed by the American Academy of Neurology recommends immediate brain computerised tomography (CT) scans to screen certain patients with seizures in a hospital accident and emergency department.
Last summer, you may remember that the report Wasted money, wasted lives was published. It looked at the human and economic costs of epilepsy in England, and condemned the continued government failure to meet the needs of people living with the condition.
Thanks to everyone who responded to our earlier posting looking for people to sign up for guaranteed places in the Great North Run. I'm pleased to report that we have none of those left - we have willing runners happy to run the half-marathon to raise money for us.
Ann Keen MP, one of the ministers at the English Department of Health, is taking part in a webchat on healthcare in the UK today (Wednesday 27th), at 4pm UK time.