Causes of Epilepsy

Epilepsy is far more common than most people realize. It is quite possible for the person next to you to have it. Epilepsy is "a diverse collection of disorders”. In the United States, there are close to one million people with epilepsy or about 1 in 100 people. (Showing a visual) Epilepsy is the most common serious brain disorder worldwide with no age, racial, social class, national, or geographic boundaries. This is a review of the emerging insights into the mechanisms underlying the most common form of epilepsy.
Now I am going to discuss the Terminology and Classification of Epileptic Seizures
The term seizure refers to an alteration of behavior due to abnormal bursts of firing of neurons in the central nervous system. Epilepsy is a syndrome of episodic brain dysfunction characterized by recurrent unpredictable spontaneous seizures. Partial seizures begin in a localized brain region, whereas generalized seizures show widespread involvement throughout the entire brain. A complex partial seizure is associated with impairment of consciousness while a simple partial seizure is not. Most complex partial seizures originate from the temporal lobe and are also called temporal lobe seizures. Epileptics frequently have more than one type of seizure. When simple partial seizure precedes a complex partial seizure, it is referred to as an aura. Convulsions are sudden, violent, involuntary contraction of the muscles of the body, often accompanied by loss of consciousness. Status epilepticus is a life-threatening condition in which the brain is in a state of persistent seizure. Complex partial seizures constitute a major percentage of epilepsies and as a result of impaired consciousness are rather disabling. They are often medically intractable in that the administration of medication will not control the seizures. Most cases of complex partial epilepsy appear to stem from an abnormality in the temporal lobe, since partial resection of the temporal lobe and the hippocampus