What is epilepsy and what causes it?

Who gets epilepsy?

Epilepsy is slightly more common in males than females, starting at any age; it often starts in childhood but can occur in anyone at any time.

What happens if you have epilepsy?

There are over 40 different types of seizure and also different kinds of epilepsy. Your doctor will have told you the type of epilepsy you have and what to expect when you have a seizure. If you need further information about this, be sure to ask your epilepsy specialist or nurse.

Is epilepsy common, and can it be cured?

Epilepsy is a very common condition which affects nearly half a million people in the UK. Epilepsy is the most common serious neurological disorder; although it cannot be cured, there are a number of different types of medical and surgical treatments which can help control seizures and help most people with epilepsy have a good quality of life. Sometimes, children grow out of their epilepsy.

What causes epilepsy?

Epilepsy is due to an abnormal burst of “electrical” activity in your brain. The brain is like a centre for lots of electrical circuits, sending and receiving messages to and from all parts of the body. In epilepsy, you have sudden abnormal bursts of activity which cause seizures. The type of seizure you have is determined by where the bursts occur. Depending on how bad your epilepsy is, the seizures will happen more or less frequently. The brain returns to normal after the seizure which usually lasts only a few seconds or minutes.

How do you get epilepsy?

Epilepsy is caused by lots of different things - in fact, it can be caused by an infection (such as meningitis), sometimes there is a family tendency to develop epilepsy and, in some people, there is no known cause (this is called idiopathic epilepsy). Other causes include damage to the brain before or during birth, head injuries, tumours or strokes. Some young children have seizures when they have a high temperature but these are not due to epilepsy - these are called febrile convulsions.

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