What is Epilepsy?

Epilepsy is a neurological condition that affects around one person in every 131 in the UK, and is the world’s most common serious neurological condition. Epilepsy starts in the brain and a seizure can occur if the signals sent and received by the brain’s nerve endings (neurons) are interrupted.

Many people will experience a seizure at some point in their lives and this does not necessarily mean they have epilepsy. To be diagnosed as having epilepsy, a person will have experienced more than one witnessed seizure.

There can be many different reasons for developing epilepsy, but the cause is not always known. People who develop epilepsy for no apparent reason have ‘idiopathic’ epilepsy. Often, this responds well to drug treatment.

Where a person’s epilepsy has a clear cause, their epilepsy is referred to as ‘symptomatic’. Causes could include trauma from an accident, an infection of the brain (e.g. encephalitis, meningitis), a stroke or an abnormal development of the brain in the womb

Epilepsy takes many forms and there are more than forty different types. Around 70% of people can live a seizure-free life with the right medication.