Epilepsy – Epidemiology, Consequences and New Therapeutic Approaches

Prof. Dr. Felix Rosenow, Epilepsiezentrum Frankfurt Rhein-Main, Klinik für Neurologie
Universitätsklinikum Frankfurt
am 29. Januar 2018

Epilepsy is one of the most common chronic neurological diseases, affecting more than 50 million people worldwide. Patients with epilepsy suffer from a 2-3-fold increase in mortality, psychological concomitant diseases such as depression or anxiety disorder, reduced social participation and quality of life.

Since epilepsies have a wide variety of causes, therapy must at best be tailored to the individual patient and his or her personal characteristics, i.e. personalised or individualised. The standard drug therapy used today is a relatively unspecific and symptomatically effective therapy, which only aims to curb the seizures without modifying the disease. In 30% of those affected, epilepsy cannot be treated successfully, many suffer from treatment-related side effects such as fatigue, irritability, dizziness, etc.

Modern diagnostic imaging techniques (MRI) and genetics, however, are increasingly being used to identify specific brain lesions or specific gene variants that allow a personalized, sometimes even precision medical treatment approach.