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Epilepsy - Overview

Alternative Names

Temporal lobe epilepsy; Seizure disorder

Definition of Epilepsy:

Epilepsy is a brain disorder in which a person has repeated seizures (convulsions) over time. Seizures are episodes of disturbed brain activity that cause changes in attention or behavior.

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

Epilepsy occurs when permanent changes in brain tissue cause the brain to be too excitable or jumpy. The brain sends out abnormal signals. This results in repeated, unpredictable seizures. (A single seizure that does not happen again is not epilepsy.)

Epilepsy may be due to a medical condition or injury that affects the brain, or the cause may be unknown (idiopathic).

Common causes of epilepsy include:

Stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA)
Dementia, such as Alzheimer's disease
Traumatic brain injury
Infections, including brain abscess, meningitis, encephalitis, and AIDS
Brain problems that are present at birth (congenital brain defect)
Brain injury that occurs during or near bith
Metabolism disorders that a child may be born with (such as phenylketonuria)
Brain tumor
Abnormal blood vessels in the brain
Other illness that damage or destroy brain tissue

Epilepsy seizures usually begin between ages 5 and 20, but they can happen at any age. There may be a family history of seizures or epilepsy.

Brain structures

Limbic system

Treatment of epilepsy

Central nervous system

Reviewed last on: 3/28/2011
Joseph V. Campellone, M.D., Division of Neurology, Cooper University Hospital, Camden, NJ. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

Duvivier EH, Pollack Jr CV. Seizures. In: Marx, JA, ed. Rosen's Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Mosby Elsevier; 2009: chap 100.

French JA, Pedley TA. Clinical practice. Initial management of epilepsy. N Engl J Med. 2008;359(2):166-76.

Kornblau DH, Conway Jr EE, Caplen SM. Neurologic Disorders. In: Marx JA, ed. Rosen's Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 7th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Mosby Elsevier; 2009: chap 173.

Krumholz A, Wiebe S, Gronseth G, et al. Practice parameter: evaluating an apparent unprovoked first seizure in adults (an evidence-based review): report of the Quality Standards Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology and the American Epilepsy Society. Neurology. 2007;69:1991-2007.

Schachter SC. Seizure disorders. Med Clin North Am. March 2009;93(2).

Trescher WH, Lesser RP. The Epilepsies. In: Bradley WG, Daroff RB, Fenichel GM, Jakovic J, eds. Neurology in Clinical Practice. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa; Butterworth-Heinemann; 2008: chap 71.

Walker SP, Permezel M, Berkovic SF. The management of epilepsy in pregnancy. BJOG. 2009;116(6):758-67.

C. L. Harden, J. Hopp, T. Y. Ting, et al. Practice Parameter update: Management issues for women with epilepsy --Focus on pregnancy (an evidence-based review). Neurology 2009;73;126

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