Epilepsy Global Issues for the Practicing Neurologist

Epilepsy is one of the most common serious primary brain disorders, affecting forty million people worldwide. According to the World Health Organization, epilepsy accounts for 1% of the Global Burden of Disease, equivalent to lung cancer in men and to breast cancer in women. It is not surprising, therefore, that ten to twenty texts on epilepsy are published annually. These texts contain the very latest information on diagnosis and treatment of various aspects of epilepsy however, approximately 80% of people with epilepsy in the world live in developing countries, where modern diagnostic and treatment approaches do not exist. Upwards of 90% of people with epilepsy in these areas receive no treatment at all. This is the first text to address the issues faced by neurologists who must deliver care with limited resources, often in a setting of tropical diseases and malnutrition, that characterize practice in developing countries."