What is Epilepsy?
Epilepsy is a brain disorder in which clusters of nerve cells, or neurons, in the brain
sometimes signal abnormally. In epilepsy, the normal pattern of neuronal
activity becomes disturbed, causing strange sensations, emotions, and behavior or
sometimes convulsions, muscle spasms, and loss of consciousness. Epilepsy is a disorder
with many possible causes. Anything that disturbs the normal pattern of
neuron activity — from illness to brain damage to abnormal brain development — can lead to seizures.
Epilepsy may develop because of an abnormality in brain wiring, an
imbalance of nerve signaling chemicals called neurotransmitters, or some combination of these factors.
Having a seizure does not necessarily mean that a person has epilepsy.
Only when a person has had two or more seizures is he or she considered to have epilepsy.
EEGs and brain scans are common diagnostic test for epilepsy.
