ABPI Highlights Advances In Epilepsy Treatment

The number of people with epilepsy who have been seizure-free for two years or more has doubled in the past 30 years, thanks to improvements in drug treatment and other factors. This is the encouraging message from the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry in a new report entitled Target Epilepsy.

The ABPI notes that between 1950 and 1960, only 30% of people with epilepsy were seizure-free for a two-year period, while 30 years later this figure has risen to 60%. And this has occurred despite limited funding into epilepsy research, according to Trevor Jones, director-general of the ABPI. "As a medical problem, epilepsy is on a par with diabetes - but funding remains one-twelfth that for diabetes, and specialist clinics dealing with the disease have not been widely introduced," noted Dr Jones.

"Partly as a response to this, many pharmaceutical companies working in this field are providing a wide range of services for doctors, nurses and people with epilepsy," continued Dr Jones.