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Weight-loss surgery can change a person's life and health, but new research warns it might also come with a slight risk of developing epilepsy. 

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People who had the surgery had a 45% relative increased risk of developing epilepsy, compared with people who did not have the surgery. 

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"Patients who are considering weight-loss surgery should discuss the benefits and risks of bariatric surgery with their doctor," said lead researcher Dr. Jorge Burneo, 

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"The absolute risk is low," Burneo said. "We estimated it to be 16 per 100,000 patients during three years of the study." 

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Burneo's team collected data on nearly 17,000 people who had bariatric surgery over six years. They compared these patients with more than 622,000 obese patients who didn't have the procedure.  

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Over that time, 73 of those who had bariatric surgery developed epilepsy (0.4%), compared with 1,260 people who didn't have the procedure (0.2%), the researchers found. 

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These included gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy. Both procedures reduce the size of the stomach, thus restricting the number of calories a patient can consume. 

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"Bariatric [weight-loss] surgery can lead to electrolyte abnormalities, mineral deficiencies, which might be a contributing factor." 

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Bariatric surgery is lifesaving and can result in significant improvement, if not complete remission of numerous health problems, including Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure

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