Epilepsy is one of the most prevalent neurological disorders characterized not only by recurrent unprovoked seizures,[1] but also by frequent somatic and psychiatric co-morbidities.[2–6] Consequently, epilepsy has major socioeconomic consequences for patients, families, and society[7,8] in addition to a significant loss of disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) and a reduced life expectancy.[9–13] In a systematic analysis of loss of DALYs, epilepsy ranked fifth among neurological disorders.[9] The Global Burden of Diseases (GBD) Study estimated global, regional, and country-specific prevalence from 317 studies and found that 0.62% of the population had epilepsy,[9] and a recent international review and meta-analysis of population-based studies estimated a point prevalence of epilepsy of 0.64 %.
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