Nearly half of American teenagers have never heard of

epilepsy or have never read anything about it, according

to research published.

Only 4% of the 19,000 teenagers surveyed thought

epilepsy was contagious, but another 22% were not

sure whether it was contagious or not, and 23% did not

know enough about the condition to know one way or

another.

Nearly half of the young people surveyed said they

would not tell their friends if they had the condition, but

nearly 70% said they would want a friend to tell them if

he or she had epilepsy.

Eric Hargis, president of the Epilepsy Foundation, said

that the survey results showed "teens that lacked

information about epilepsy engaged in behaviors that

were stigma-producing."

The stigma of epilepsy was also apparent in responses

that indicated that over 40% of teenagers believed that

having epilepsy might make them unpopular and 37%

thought it would increase the likelihood of getting

picked on.

11% of those questioned said they would not date

someone with epilepsy, and 44% said they were

unsure whether they would date someone with

epilepsy.