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Article: Controlling epilepsy. (superstitions are outdated)(includes related material)
- Article from:
- FDA Consumer
- Article date:
- May 1, 1992
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1992 U.S. Government Printing Office. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The sight of someone having a severe epileptic seizure is hard to forget. The person suddenly cries out, loses consciousness, falls to the ground, and foams at the mouth. Arms and legs jerk convulsively for several minutes.
It's no wonder such high drama has inspired supernatural interpretations of epilepsy in the past. During ancient times, most Greeks thought seizures were brief visits from the gods and called epilepsy "the sacred disease." During the Renaissance, in contrast, many people believed demons were behind seizures, and those with epilepsy were burned to death as sorcerers, according to Richard Restak, M.D., author of The Brain.
Today ...