Epilepsy Foundation Working on Preventing Post-Traumatic Epilepsy

About 2.87 million Americans experience a traumatic brain injury (TBI) each year with more than 280,000 individuals hospitalized due to a TBI. A TBI is defined as a disruption in the normal function of the brain that can be caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head, or a penetrating head injury. 

In some estimates within the U.S., seizures happen in 1 out of every 10 hospitalized persons with moderate or severe TBI. Note that each TBI and its impact on the brain is different. Depending on the type of moderate or severe TBI and each individual’s risk, between 3 - 80% develop epilepsy or seizures during hospitalization.

Post-traumatic epilepsy is a condition with repeated seizures that occur more than 1 week after a moderate or severe TBI. About 25% of people who have a post-traumatic seizure in 1 week will have epilepsy. Up to 80% of people who have a post-traumatic seizure more than 1 week after a TBI will develop epilepsy.

More research is needed so that we can continue to develop and design new forms of for early diagnosis, prevention, and management of epilepsy following TBI to reduce disability and cost impacts.

The Epilepsy Foundation is part of the STOP TBI public engagement initiative which brings together a group of TBI and epilepsy doctors, scientists, nonprofit organizations, individuals and families living with TBI and epilepsy to improve the design of future treatment studies to prevent epilepsy after TBI. As the initiative moves forward, we will be looking for more community feedback to help make sure research studies meet your needs.

The STOP TBI initiative is supported by NIH grant U54 NS100064 The Epilepsy Bioinformatics Study for Antiepileptogenic Therapy (EpiBioS4Rx).