For the first time in 10 years, doctors have issued new guidelines for the treatment of epilepsy, spelling out which new drugs are worth a try to control the seizures that are a hallmark of the disorder.Experts from the American Academy of Neurology and the American Epilepsy Society announced the guidelines Monday at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in San Francisco.Epilepsy affects 40 million people worldwide. Five percent to 10 percent of Americans will suffer a seizure during their lifetime. Of those people, 30 percent will go on to develop epilepsy, a brain disorder in which clusters of nerve cells -- called neurons -- sometimes signal abnormally. When the normal pattern of neuronal activity becomes disturbed, strange sensations, emotions and behavior can result, as well as convulsions and loss of consciousness.
