About epilepsy
Epilepsy is the tendency to have recurrent seizures which have not been provoked by a reversible cause such as fever.
A seizure occurs when there is a disruption to the normal electrical activity of the brain. Seizures vary in type, severity and intensity, and can present as changes in consciousness, movement, sensation, or behaviour.
Epilepsy has been classified as having six different possible causes. Your doctor will do a number of investigations to look for the cause.
Brain inflammation caused by the body's immune system.
An infection in the brain.
Changes in the structure of the brain from birth or develop later in life.
An error in the enzymes that break down the food we eat.
A change in the code (DNA) that may be inherited or occur randomly.
Sometimes the cause of epilepsy is not known.
Condition factsheets
*TBC content/link to new epilepsy, seizures and syndromes factsheets.