Actress Campbell Supports Epilespy Rights

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Actress Neve Campbell said relatives with epilepsy have inspired her to support an epilepsy ``bill of rights'' to draw attention to the disease and options for coping with it.

Monday, May 9th 2005, 9:51 am

By: News On 6

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Actress Neve Campbell said relatives with epilepsy have inspired her to support an epilepsy ``bill of rights'' to draw attention to the disease and options for coping with it.

People with epilepsy and members of the health care community created the ``bill of rights'' to tell people with epilepsy what they can demand in the workplace and at school and to provide information about the disease and its treatment, Campbell said.

``There is great misunderstanding about epilepsy, I think, not only by people who don't know what it is but by people with it who don't believe they can lead a normal life or that they have options,'' Campbell said.

Her cousin, Coleen Campbell-Olwell, has the disease that affects an estimated 2.5 million adults and children in the United States. She controls it with medication and said it has not interfered with her life or career as a Hollywood makeup artist.

``Most people with epilepsy, you wouldn't know they have it,'' Campbell-Olwell said.

Epilepsy is characterized by seizures which occur when neurological electrical circuits misfire. Seizures can range from a short glassy-eyed stare to convulsions and unconsciousness.

Campbell, who starred in the TV series ``Party of Five'' and films including ``The Company,'' is in the new Showtime movie ``Reefer."