What is Epilepsy?
Epilepsy is a neurological condition, which affects the nervous system. Epilepsy is also known as a seizure disorder. It is usually diagnosed after a person has had at least two seizures that were not caused by some known medical condition like alcohol withdrawal or extremely low blood sugar.
The seizures in epilepsy may be related to a brain injury or a family tendency, but most of the time the cause is unknown. The word “epilepsy” does not indicate anything about the cause of the person’s seizures, what type they are, or how severe they are.
What is a Seizure?
A seizure is a sudden surge of electrical activity in the brain that usually affects how a person feels or acts for a short time. Seizures are not a disease in themselves. Instead, they are a symptom of many different disorders that can affect the brain. Some seizures can hardly be noticed, while others are totally disabling.
The seizures in epilepsy may be related to a brain injury or a family tendency, but often the cause is completely unknown. The word “epilepsy” does not indicate anything about the cause or severity of the person’s seizures.
If I have one seizure, does that mean I will get epilepsy?
About half of the people who have one seizure without a clear cause will have another one, usually within 6 months. You are twice as likely to have another seizure if you have a known brain injury or other type of brain abnormality. If you do have two seizures, there’s about an 80% chance that you’ll have more.
If your first seizure occurred at the time of an injury or infection in the brain, you are more likely to develop epilepsy than if you had not had a seizure in that situation.
More seizures are also likely if your doctor finds abnormalities on a neurological examination; a set of tests of the functioning of your nervous system that is performed in the doctor’s office.
Another thing that can help your doctor predict whether you will have more seizures is an EEG, electroencephalogram, a test in which wires attached to your scalp record your brain waves. Certain patterns on the EEG are typical of epilepsy. If your brain waves show patterns of that type, you are about twice as likely to develop epilepsy as someone who does not have those patterns.
Who gets Epilepsy?
Epilepsy can develop in any person at any age. 0.5% to 2% of people will develop epilepsy during their lifetime. People with certain conditions may be at greater risk. (See “what causes Epilepsy below“)
About 2.7 million Americans have been treated for epilepsy in the past 5 years. That’s 8 or 9 out of every 1,000 people. In other words, out of 60,000 people filling a big stadium, about 500 have epilepsy. More men than women have epilepsy.
When are people most likely to get epilepsy?
New cases of epilepsy are most common among children, especially during the first year of life. The rate of new cases gradually declines until about age 10, and then becomes stable. After age 55 or 60, the rate starts to increase, as people develop strokes, brain tumors, or Alzheimer’s disease. (All of these disorders can cause epilepsy.)
Facts About Epilepsy
- Up to 5% of the world’s population may have a single seizure at some time in their lives.
- It is likely that around 60 million people in the world have epilepsy at any one time.
- Children and adolescents are more likely to have epilepsy of unknown or genetic origin than adults.
- Epilepsy can start at any age.
- Recent studies show that seizures in up to 70% of children and adults with newly diagnosed epilepsy can be controlled with medications; however, many of these people experience treatment-related side effects.
- Seizures in up to 30% of people with epilepsy do not respond to available medications.
