Epilepsy.

Epilepsy affects 1 in every 100 people in Britain. It is the most common serious brain disorder yet epilepsy services are underfunded and treatment throughout the country is very uneven. London has centres of excellence including the National Hospital for Neurology and Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital and treatment is also well provided by St. James' University Hospital Trust, Leeds, the Royal Hospital for Children,. Glasgow, and the Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford. Parents of children with severe epilepsy describe its effects and doctors from the aforementioned hospitals discuss the problems of the condition, the dangers of misdiagnosis, advances in treatment and the time which has to be devoted to obtaining an understanding of each patient's pattern of epilepsy and related problems. At the Radcliffe Infirmary a 100-year old surgical procedure involving the removal of part of the brain can transform the patient's life. However, many doctors hesitate to recommend such a radical treatment so that the operation is carried out on only about half the number of children who could benefit from it.