Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a condition that affects the brain and causes repeated seizures. A seizure is a burst of electrical activity in the brain that temporarily affects how it works. Around 630,000 people in the UK have epilepsy.

Types of seizures

Seizures can look very different:

• focal seizures start in one part of the brain. You may feel strange, have odd sensations, or be unaware of what you are doing
• tonic clonic seizures (once called grand mal) where you lose consciousness, go stiff, fall and your body jerks
• absence seizures, where you "switch off" for a few seconds
• atonic seizures, where muscles go floppy and you may fall

Causes

Often no cause is found. Epilepsy can be linked to a brain injury, stroke, brain infection, brain tumour, or genes.

Getting diagnosed

You will see a specialist, usually within 2 weeks of a first seizure. It helps to bring a description or video of the seizure from someone who saw it. Tests may include an EEG, which records brain activity, and an MRI scan.

Read about epilepsy treatment.