On The Young and the Restless ...

When Victor Newman's blackouts and hallucinations are diagnosed as temporal lobe seizures, his family realizes that what they thought was a new and improved Victor is actually a man with an electrical disturbance in his brain due to an undiagnosed head injury sustained in the carjacking.

While Victor is absorbing the information about his diagnosis, his doctor talks to Victoria about first aid and other important issues. Later, Victor makes a critical decision about his medications.

Now that Victor has been diagnosed with temporal lobe epilepsy, how will he and his family react? Tune in to The Young and the Restless on CBS for the continuing story. And stay with us, your trusted source on epilepsy information, for more details.

What's the Diagnosis?

Victor is not alone. Epilepsy is the most common neurological condition in children and the third most common in adults after Alzheimer's and stroke. Some 3 million people in the U.S. have some form of epilepsy, and 200,000 new cases are diagnosed each year. Although about 30 percent of cases are, like Victor's, caused by head trauma, tumor or stroke, there is no known cause for the remaining 70 percent.

Prior to the diagnosis of temporal lobe seizures, the doctor prescribed some medications for Victor that didn't work for him. Victor unknowingly continued to experience the effects of epilepsy. While these effects are stylized for the soap opera, similar symptoms are not too uncommon for people with this type of epilepsy. Now, the doctor has given a new course of medication and told Victor what the regimen should be. A crucial element for Victor's successful treatment will be working closely with his doctor, taking his medications as prescribed and letting his medical team know about any side effects. Will this once-powerful businessman be able to work within someone else's guidelines? Will he be able to admit weakness?

Stay tuned for what is certain to be an exciting storyline!

About Epilepsy

"For many people with epilepsy the biggest problem is not the disorder itself," explained Eric Hargis, president of the Epilepsy Foundation, "but society's attitude toward people with the condition. The facts are, however, that most people with epilepsy can lead successful, seizure-free lives with appropriate treatment and medication. We're extremely pleased with CBS's decision to partner with us to help bring epilepsy out of the shadows by associating the condition with one of the network's most renowned programs and famed actors."

» Seizure First Aid

» Epilepsy Foundation Thanks CBS; Add Your Voice

» View the Original Announcement

More In-Depth Information About Temporal Lobe Epilpesy

Our partner, Elsevier Publishing has provided selected articles from Epilpesy and Behaviour for anyone wishing more in-depth information about Temporal Lobe Epilpesy:

Temporal lobe epilepsy as a model to understand human memory: The distinction between explicit and implicit memory (PDF)

Memory for famous faces and the temporal pole: Functional imaging findings in temporal lobe epilepsy (PDF)

Recognition of emotion with temporal lobe epilepsy and asymmetrical amygdala damage (PDF)

CBS Cares

"CBS is proud to be able to use this forum to raise awareness about epilepsy, and as the story unfolds, viewers will have the opportunity to not only see how Victor himself deals with his diagnosis, but how his family reacts as well," said Barbara Bloom, Senior Vice President, Daytime Programs, CBS. "We are fortunate to have an actor of Eric Braeden's caliber to play out these events, and we hope our audience will find them remarkable."

Stay tuned to see the CBS Cares public service announcements.