Every day in the UK, 87 people are diagnosed with epilepsy, affecting over 600,000 people. Many people with a new diagnosis of epilepsy will experience memory and other cognitive problems. The cause of these problems is unknown.
It has an annual incidence of 20 per 100?000 children, and is the second most common reason for unplanned admissions to paediatric intensive care units (PICUs) in the UK.
Anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs), also known as anticonvulsants, are used to control seizures in people with epilepsy.