epilepsy
Sign in to saveEpilepsy is a group of neurological disorders characterized by a tendency for recurrent, unprovoked seizures. A seizure is a sudden burst of abnormal electrical activity in the brain that can cause a variety of symptoms, ranging from brief lapses of awareness or muscle jerks to prolonged convulsions. These episodes can result in physical injuries, either directly, such as broken bones, or through causing accidents. The diagnosis of epilepsy typically requires at least two unprovoked seizures occurring more than 24 hours apart. In some cases, however, it may be diagnosed after a single unprovok
AI overview
Epilepsy is a brain condition that makes people prone to having recurrent seizures—sudden bursts of abnormal electrical activity that can cause anything from brief moments of lost awareness to violent muscle convulsions. It matters because seizures can cause serious physical injuries through falls, accidents, or the convulsions themselves, and the unpredictability of when they'll strike significantly affects people's daily lives and safety.
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Key facts
- Medical condition (new).name
- Epilepsy
- Medical condition (new).synonyms
- Seizure disorder Neurological disability
- Medical condition (new).image
- Spike-waves.png
- Medical condition (new).alt
- The electroencephalogram recording of a person with childhood absence epilepsy showing a seizure. The waves are black on a white background.
- Medical condition (new).caption
- Generalized 3 Hz spike-and-wave discharges on an electroencephalogram
- Medical condition (new).field
- Neurology
- Medical condition (new).symptoms
- Periods of loss of consciousness, abnormal shaking, staring, change in vision, mood changes and/or other cognitive disturbances
- Medical condition (new).duration
- Long term
- Medical condition (new).causes
- Unknown, brain injury, stroke, brain tumors, infections of the brain, birth defects
- Medical condition (new).diagnosis
- Electroencephalogram, ruling out other possible causes
Article
58 sectionsContents
- Signs and symptoms
- Seizures
- Focal seizures
- Generalized seizures
- Triggers and reflex seizures
- Seizure clusters
- Postictal state
- Psychosocial
- Causes
- Structural
- Genetics
- Infectious
- Immune
- Metabolic
- Unknown
- Mechanism
- Seizures
- Epilepsy
- Diagnosis
- Definition
- Classification
- Syndromes
- Tests
- Differential diagnosis
- Prevention
- Complications
- Management
- First aid and acute management of seizures
- Medications
- Surgery
- Neuromodulation
- Diet
- Adjunctive and complementary therapies
- Contraception and pregnancy
- Prognosis
- Cognition
- Mortality
- Epidemiology
- History
- Society and culture
- Stigma
- Economic impact
- Driving and legal restrictions
- Advocacy and support organizations
- Research directions
- Animal models
- Genetics and molecular research
- Epileptogenesis and biomarkers
- Antiseizure drug development
- Seizure prediction
- Remote detection of seizures
- Mechanistic modeling and alternative pathways
- Potential future therapies
- Other animals
- See also
- References
- Further reading
- External links
Epilepsy is a group of neurological disorders characterized by a tendency for recurrent, unprovoked seizures. A seizure is a sudden burst of abnormal electrical activity in the brain that can cause a variety of symptoms, ranging from brief lapses of awareness or muscle jerks to prolonged convulsions. These episodes can result in physical injuries, either directly, such as broken bones, or through causing accidents. The diagnosis of epilepsy typically requires at least two unprovoked seizures occurring more than 24 hours apart. In some cases, however, it may be diagnosed after a single unprovoked seizure if clinical evidence suggests a high risk of recurrence. Isolated seizures that occur without recurrence risk or are provoked by identifiable causes are not considered indicative of epilepsy.
The underlying cause is often unknown, but epilepsy can result from brain injury, stroke, infections, tumors, genetic conditions, or developmental abnormalities. Epilepsy that occurs as a result of other issues may be preventable. Diagnosis involves ruling out other conditions that can resemble seizures, and may include neuroimaging, blood tests, and electroencephalography (EEG).