Definition :

Epilepsy is a chronic disorder of the brain that affects people worldwide. It is

characterized by recurrent seizures, which are brief episodes of involuntary
movement that may involve a part of the body (partial) or the entire body
(generalized), and are sometimes accompanied by loss of consciousness and control
of bowel or bladder function (WHO, 2018).

Epilepsy exists when someone has an epileptic seizure and their brain “demonstrates
a pathologic and enduring tendency to have recurrent seizures” (Fisher et al., 2014).
More specifically, epilepsy is diagnosed when an individual has at least two
unprovoked or reflex seizures >24 hour apart, one unprovoked or reflex seizure and a
probability of having another seizure similar to the general recurrence risk after two
unprovoked seizures (≥60%) over the next 10 years, or an epilepsy syndrome (Fisher
et al., 2014).

Etiology :

Epilepsy is not contagious. The most common type of epilepsy, which affects 6 out of
10 people with the disorder, is called idiopathic epilepsy and has no identifiable
cause. Epilepsy with a known cause is called secondary epilepsy, or symptomatic
epilepsy. The causes of secondary (or symptomatic) epilepsy could be (WHO, 2018):

- Brain damage from prenatal or perinatal injuries (e.g. a loss of oxygen or

trauma during birth, low birth weight).
- Congenital abnormalities or genetic conditions with associated brain
malformations.
- A severe head injury.
- A stroke that restricts the amount of oxygen to the brain.
- An infection of the brain such as meningitis, encephalitis, neurocysticercosis.
- Certain genetic syndromes.
- A brain tumor.

Bibliography
Fisher et al. (2014). Epilepsia. Ilae Official Report: A Practical Clinical Definition Of
Epilepsy, 55(4), 475-482.

World Health Organization. (2018). Epilepsy. Retrieved from

http://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/epilepsy (Accessed in 2018
June 2)