Redwood Falls, MN
A 27-year-old female asked:
If you have baby with a guy that was born with epilepsy is there a good chance the baby will have epilepsy?he has a kid already that has epilepsy...
4 doctor answers • 9 doctors weighed in
Dr. Guillermo Philippsanswered
Pediatrics - Neurology 17 years experience
Yes, but it depends: The risk for developing epilepsy in the general population is about 1-2%. The children of a parent with epilepsy are at higher risk of developing epilepsy but it depends on several factors: age of parent's seizure onset, type of epilepsy syndrome, number of other family members with epilepsy. The range of risk is somewhere between 2% to 10% for most epilepsy syndromes.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
Dr. Andrew Reevesanswered
Neurology 32 years experience
Genetic: If he has epilepsy because of a gene he inherited, and already has a child with the same exact kind of epilepsy, then each child he fathers would typically have a 50-50 chance of inheriting that gene...and likely developing epilepsy.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Dr. William Singeranswered
Pediatric Neurology 53 years experience
Depends on type: It depends on the type of epilepsy he has. If you get the opportunity, ask to speak with his neurologist what type of epilepsy he has and try to get the information about his child with epilepsy.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A Verified Doctoranswered
Pediatric Neurology 31 years experience
Genetic Epilepsy: A man with epilepsy who has a child with epilepsy is far more likely to have another child with epilepsy then one without a personal history of epilepsy. However, even with the same epilepsy gene in the same family, some people will not be affected and others mildly while still others more severely affected. There now are tests for many genetic epilepsies but not for severity.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
989 viewsAnswered >2 years ago
Last updated Sep 11, 2016
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