Oct. 11--What do Julius Caesar, Leonardo da Vinci and Minnesota head football coach Jerry Kill have in common?
Caesar and da Vinci also suffered from seizures, but Kill's latest on game day against New Mexico State put the little understood neurological disorder back in the spotlight.
"Nobody wants to have seizures, but what it did was raise the awareness; a lot of people with seizures don't know other people with seizures," said Dr. Kathleen Rieke, a neurologist at CentraCare Clinic.
Epilepsy is a medical condition that produces seizures (also called a "seizure disorder"). When a person has two or more unprovoked seizures, they have epilepsy, according to the Epilepsy Foundation of Minnesota.
"We've had a number of opportunities to help create awareness and help educate people through his experience," said Lori Braegelmann of the Epilepsy Foundation of Minnesota.
Common condition
Epilepsy is the most common neurological condition in children, and the third most common in adults (behind stroke and Alzheimer's disease), according to the foundation.
"I've heard from a number of my patients that it's nice that it's finally out there, that we can talk about seizures and it's not taboo," said Rieke, referring to Kill's seizure last month on the sidelines.
One in 10 adults will have a seizure in their lifetime. Seizures can happen to anyone at any time; in 70 percent of cases, the cause is unknown, according to Braegelmann.
"The general thought is you should return back to your life when you are feeling back to yourself," said Rieke, who is not treating Kill, who was admitted to the Mayo Clinic on Sept. 25.
A seizure can range from a slight facial tic to one that is fatal. There is no cure for epilepsy, and treatment for managing the 20-plus types of seizures ranges from medications to brain surgery.
"We know that stress can certainly trigger seizures. We know that being sleep deprived can trigger seizures, but with medications, most people's seizures are under control," Rieke said.
About 60,000 people in Minnesota and North Dakota have seizures, according to the Epilepsy Foundation of Minnesota, which hopes to find a cure and overcome the challenges created by epilepsy.
"The most common response when people see someone having a seizure is panic and fear -- not knowing what to do," Braegelmann said. "Some people also believe that it is contagious, which is simply a myth."
Appropriate response
Lack of knowledge about proper seizure first aid exposes affected individuals to injury from unnecessary restraint and from objects needlessly forced into their mouths, according to the foundation.
"State law says if you have a seizure, you are required to report it to the Department of Motor Vehicles, and they will usually suspend your license until you've been seizure-free for three months," Rieke said.
"Studies have shown if you do not have a seizure in those three months, chances are pretty good that you're going to do OK with driving."
November is national epilepsy awareness month and the Epilepsy Foundation of Minnesota will host the first epilepsy research summit Nov. 5 at the Bakken Museum in Minneapolis.
"There's always that kind of concern even with medication that a seizure could happen, and that's something that patients kind of have to learn to live with and cope with," Rieke said.
Some 40 percent of people with epilepsy are severely affected and continue to have seizures despite treatment, according to the Epilepsy Foundation of Minnesota.
"I think, for the patients' families, the hardest thing, really, is feeling helpless," Rieke said. "You see somebody having a seizure and the best thing you can do is nothing -- don't put anything in their mouth, don't hold them down -- just let them have their seizure."
Starting Thursday, the foundation is hosting free seizure education workshops in Hutchinson, Fergus Falls, Bemidji and Owatonna. Visit www.efmn.org for dates and more information.
"It's very scary to see someone you love or someone you don't know having a seizure, and you're supposed to do nothing except make sure they don't hit their head or make sure they are not kicking a table," Rieke said.
Population
The Epilepsy Foundation of Minnesota serves the entire state of Minnesota and eastern North Dakota, with staff located in St. Paul, Rochester, St. Cloud, Duluth and Fargo.
"I think the most important thing for people to know is that the vast majority of people with seizures are normal. They're normal intellectually, they work, they're in our community," Rieke said. "I think a lot of people have the misconception that seizures only happen in people who are in wheelchairs or are disabled."
The number of cases in the elderly is beginning to soar as the baby boom generation approaches retirement age; more than 570,000 adults age 65 and above in the U.S. have the condition, according to the foundation.
"It's more common than most people think," said Braegelmann, community outreach coordinator of the St. Cloud area of the foundation. "Most people do not know how to properly respond to someone having a seizure."
The mortality rate among people with epilepsy is two to three times higher -- and the risk of sudden death is 24 times greater -- than that of the general population, according to the foundation.
"People who have seizures usually don't have seizures in public, so it's something that's very high profile now ... and I think it's been very good for patients to see you can be successful and normal," Rieke said.
"I think that if I was the coach's doctor, once I felt like he was on a good medication regimen and he was feeling OK, he should be back to work, doing the things that he enjoys."
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