Veterans and Epilepsy
Veterans are at higher risk for developing epilepsy than nonveterans because of an increased likelihood of traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder. These conditions are also associated with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures. The VHA Epilepsy Centers of Excellence (ECoE) was created in 2008 to provide comprehensive treatment and support to veterans with epilepsy (i.e., seizure disorders, including psychogenic nonepileptic seizures)
The resources on this page were created by the VHA Epilepsy Centers of Excellence.
Epilepsy Centers of Excellence
The mission of the Epilepsy Centers for Excellence is to to improve the health and well-being of Veteran patients with epilepsy and other seizure disorders through the integration of clinical care, research and education.
Hope in Epilepsy: Patient & Caregivers Webinars
Check out the Hope in Epilepsy Webinar Series.
A webinar is held on the 2nd Thursday of each month at 12 noon Eastern – 9:00am Pacific time.
Videos
The videos below were created by the Veteran’s Health Administration.
This program explains how epilepsy is diagnosed. In most cases, a person who has repeated seizures will visit a neurologist to conduct a thorough history and a neurological exam and may order tests to help make a diagnosis.
This video is an introduction to epilepsy.
This program describes the various psychosocial issues that can accompany epilepsy. Feelings of isolation and depression and are not uncommon. This program delves into mental health concerns as well as available treatments.
This video program explains some of the unique challenges of women and epilepsy.
Medications are very effective in controlling seizures for most people with epilepsy. If medications don’t work, it may be possible to control a person’s seizures by removing a small part of the brain from which his or her seizures originate.
This video covers Psychogenic Non-Epileptic Seizures or PNES. The seizures can look very much like epileptic seizures but are caused by psychological issues, rather than abnormal electrical impulses in the brain.
This program describes the various medications that can be used to treat epilepsy. It includes an explanation of how the drugs work, how effective they are, and how clinicians decide which medications to use for a particular patient.
This video program explains how to keep a person safe during a seizure and how to provide first aid afterwards.
Epilepsy Among Iraq and Afghanistan War Veterans
Veterans with epilepsy who were deployed in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts are more likely to have mental and physical comorbidity and to die than those without epilepsy. The CDC report at this link details the prevalence of epilepsy among war veterans.
This page was reviewed and updated on December 24, 2024.