Eric Schumacher knows all too well the trials and tribulations of tracking seizures and daily activities in the ongoing attempt to gain seizure control. Diagnosed with epilepsy in his teens, he is now bringing a new and innovative tool to the market that could help countless people with epilepsy gain better control over their seizures and thus…

Many physicians encourage epileptic patients to lead active lives and put few, if any, restrictions on their choice of sports. Specific sports and their potential risks are discussed. (Author/MT)

In adolescents, diagnosing seizures can be challenging and can lead to many pitfalls. Because seizures are episodic and unpredictable events, they usually do not occur in the doctor's office. Thus, a diagnosis of epilepsy is usually based on information presented by the person with seizures and their family. Together with results of diagnostic…

Patients with Taylor's type focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) present with seizures that are often medically intractable. Here, we attempted to identify the cellular and pharmacological mechanisms responsible for this epileptogenic state by using field potential and K[superscript +]-selective recordings in neocortical slices obtained from epileptic…

A national demonstration project, Training and Placement Service, has placed more than 6,500 people with epilepsy in jobs. The approach features support by local affiliates of the Epilepsy Foundation of America, job preparation, technical training, and employer cooperation. (CL)

Adolescence is a time of transition, marking a period in which a teen's sexuality is developing physically and emotionally. A parent's job is to help children understand these feelings and how to respond safely and appropriately. While sexuality is important for both boys and girls, many issues are unique to females. Young girls with seizures need…

Medications are the primary treatment for epilepsy, yet many teens and their families have problems managing seizure medicines. Fear of side effects, difficulties remembering to take medicines and figuring out how to take them are common challenges. Unfortunately, not taking medicine as prescribed can lead to breakthrough seizures, which in turn…

This article addresses the situations in which athletes with special needs and considerations participate in sports. The health problems discussed are diabetes mellitus, exercise-induced asthma, exercise-induced anaphylaxis, and epilepsy. (MT)

Epilepsy is one of the most common chronic neurological problems in childhood and adolescence. Unfortunately, it is also one of the most misunderstood conditions. Epilepsy can interfere with the physical, emotional and social functioning of youth of all ages, particularly if seizures are uncontrolled. Teenagers living with epilepsy face unique…

This article profiles Mike Simmel, a member of the Harlem Wizards professional basketball team and a national spokesman for Epilepsy Awareness. Mike has been diagnosed with epilepsy when he was two-years-old. At age seven, his father gave him a basketball to see if working with the ball would help him overcome his motor skills issues. Mike first…

Effective seizure management in the school setting is a critical issue for students with seizures, as well as their parents, classmates, and school personnel. The unpredictable nature of seizures and the potential outcomes of experiencing a seizure in school are sources of anxiety for students with seizures. The ability to respond appropriately to…

Information is presented on several specialized camps that can accommodate children with diabetes, epilepsy, hemophilia, or asthma. (CB)

In the original ThinkQuest Junior competition back in 2000, a fifth grade girl at P.S. 56 in New York City won a gold award for creating a Web site entitled "Growing up with Epilepsy" (http://library. thinkquest.org/J001619/). Spurred on by her teacher, Neme Alperstein, 10-year-old Alyssa crafted an incredibly rich and comprehensive…

Epilepsy has one of the worst social outcomes for child development of the common disabilities. For most children, epilepsy is not nearly the physical challenge that many other chronic health disorders are. The problem in raising a child with epilepsy is much more emotional and social. In this first part of a three-part article series, the author…

Epilepsy is the most misunderstood of all neurological disorders known to man. Even though modern medicine (a very recent development in human history) learned that epilepsy was a common variation in biology, the roots laid down by centuries of misunderstanding have yet to be pulled from the society's social consciousness. While medicine and now…