Seizure

• What is epilepsy?
• What are the causes of epilepsy?
• What are the newest means of diagnosis?
• Is there any treatment?
• What research is being done?
• Where can I find more information?
• Epilepsy At A Glance
• Related epilepsy articles:
  Epilepsy - on WebMD

What is epilepsy?

Epilepsy, a physical condition caused by sudden, brief changes in how the brain works, is estimated to affect one percent of the U.S. population, about 2.5 million people. In about half of all cases no cause can be found, but head injuries, brain tumors, lead poisoning, problems in brain development before birth, and certain genetic and infectious illnesses can all cause epilepsy.

Epilepsy occurs when nerve cells in the brain fire electrical impulses at a rate of up to four times higher than normal. This causes a sort of electrical storm in the brain, known as a seizure. A pattern of repeated seizure is referred to as epilepsy. Medication controls seizure for the majority of patients, who are otherwise healthy and able to live full and productive lives. On the other hand, at least 200,000 Americans have seizure more than once a month. Their lives are devastated by frequent, uncontrollable seizure or associated disabilities.

This past decade has seen a dramatic increase in our knowledge about epilepsy, but there remains much tragedy in the lives of many people with the disorder. To brighten tomorrow's outlook for those who must live with seizure, the epilepsy research community continues to concentrate its efforts on:

Source: MedicineNet.com
http://www.medicinenet.com/seizure/article.htm