Women with Epilepsy: A Handbook of Health and Treatment Issues

Posted: October 7, 2003

This section of our website excerpts materials from the book "Women with Epilepsy: A Handbook of Health and Treatment Issues." Cambridge University Press published the book, edited by Martha Morrell, MD and Kerry Flynn, MA, in 2003. It was developed in collaboration with the Epilepsy Foundation as part of the Women and Epilepsy Initiative.

The full table of contents appears below. Links appear where excerpts are available.

Table of Contents

Part 1: The woman with epilepsy

Introduction: Why we wrote this book
Martha J. Morrell.

On being a woman with epilepsy
Lisa Zobian Lindahl

The woman with epilepsy: a historical perspective
Orrin Devinsky

Quality of life issues for women with epilepsy
Joyce A. Cramer

Part II: Epilepsy diagnosis and treatment

The genetics of epilepsy
Melodie R. Winawer and Ruth Ottman

Epilepsy: epidemiology, definitions, and diagnostic procedures
Simon Shorvon and Dominic Heaney

Antiepileptic drugs and other treatments for epilepsy
Jacqueline A. French

Epilepsy in children and adolescents
Patricia Crumrine

Nonepileptic seizures
Steven C. Schachter

Part III: Hormones and the brain

Brain differences
Paula Shear and Rosemary Fama

Sex hormones and how they act in the brain: a primer on the molecular mechanisms of action of sex steroid hormones
Philip A. Schwartzkroin

Epilepsy and the menstrual cycle
Patricia O. Shafer and Andrew G. Herzog

Menopause and epilepsy
Fariha Abbasi and Allan Krumholz

Part IV: Health challenges for women with epilepsy

Reproductive health for women with epilepsy
Martha J. Morrell

Sexual dysfunction in epilepsy
Martha J. Morrell

Bone health in women with epilepsy
Robert Marcus

Psychiatric complications in epilepsy
Laura Marsh

Part V: Family planning, pregnancy, and parenting

Family planning and contraceptive choice
Pamela M. Crawford

Pregnancy risks for the woman with epilepsy
Mark Yerby and Yasser Y. El-Sayed

Risks of birth defects in children born to mothers with epilepsy
Aline T. Derdiarian and Yasser Y. El-Sayed

Neurocognitive outcome in children of mothers with epilepsy
Kimford J. Meador

Parenting for women with epilepsy
Mimi Callanan

Part VI: Living well with epilepsy

The impact of epilepsy on relationships
Patricia A. Gibson

Parenting the daughter with epilepsy
Joan Kessner Austin and Janet Austin Tooze

Safety issues for women with epilepsy
Patricia Dean

Legal issues facing women with epilepsy
Jeanne Carpenter

Work issues and epilepsy
Jim Troxell

Appendix. The Epilepsy Foundation's Campaign for Women's Health: bringing help and hope to women with epilepsy
Elizabeth A. Borda

Index