Epilepsy is a serious and generally recurrent brain disorder, where brain cells panic and fire off uncoordinated commands to the rest of the body.
Most people know epilepsy as an illness in which the patient suffers from so-called seizures , causing him or her to fall to the floor, shake uncontrollably, and sometimes foam at the mouth or pass water.
The origin of the word ‘epilepsy’ is Greek for ‘being seized’ or ‘being attacked’. In Dutch the term ‘falling sickness’ was frequently used; an inappropriate name, because not every person with epilepsy collapses during a seizure. Similarly, the shaking and foaming at the mouth are not always present either.
What is a seizure?
An epileptic seizure can best be described as a sudden storm of electrical activity in the brain. There is a temporary fault in the network of connections between the millions of cells. These brain cells continuously exchange information and normally, this happens in a coordinated way within small groups of cells.
In the case of epilepsy patients, large groups of brain cells sometimes start exchanging information with each other at the same time. The resulting chaos of brain signals produces an epileptic seizure.
The brain is often capable of restoring itself back to order. How long this takes can vary widely, and some seizures last considerably longer than others. Duration of seizures varies between, as well as within individuals.
Depending on the location in the brain, various different phenomena occur, which the patient is sometimes, but not always aware of. During a seizure (sometimes also called a fit or an attack) the patient loses control over various bodily functions: some lose control over their muscles, others over their thinking process or their bladder. There are various types of attacks, ranging from an impairment of consciousness, lasting only a few seconds to a major attack with complete unconsciousness. This latter form of epilepsy is the type commonly known to most people.
What causes epilepsy?
The exact cause(s) of epilepsy are not always clearly identifiable in each patient. Research suggests there may be a variety of causes including a lack of oxygen at birth, serious head injuries, brain surgery, brain tumours, poisoning, infections of the brain or strokes. Some forms of epilepsy appear to be genetically determined.
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Item code: NPR/08-0049
Date of Preparation: August 2009
