Epilepsy, a seizure disorder, is a neurological condition that affects the firing of neurons in the brain. Seizures occur when an abnormal transmission of electrical signals takes place. According to the Epilepsy Foundation, 3 million Americans...
The brain communicates with itself and the rest of the body through electrical impulses sent between neurons. In seizure disorders, the electrical impulses in the brain are temporarily disrupted, resulting in a wide variety of symptoms due to...
The Epilepsy Foundation points out that every year, 300,000 people have their first seizure. In a seizure, electrical activity in the brain becomes disrupted, resulting in physical or behavioral changes. One type of seizure is an atonic seizure,...
People who have two or more unprovoked seizures are considered to have epilepsy, according to the Epilepsy Foundation. The medical condition affects mental, emotional and physical functions. A brief abnormal electrical discharge in the brain...
Epilepsy is a brain disorder where a person experiences chronic recurring seizures characterized by abnormal electrical activity in the brain, which can have detrimental physical and mental results, according to the University of Maryland Medical...
The Merck Manual Home Edition notes that about 2 percent of people have a seizure, a neurological condition in which irregular electrical activity occurs in the brain. Seizures can affect one part of the brain, called a partial seizure, or the...
Seizures are due to electrical activity in the brain, which results in changes in consciousness and movement. Symptoms of seizures vary in patients: some patients may just have a staring spell, while others may experience twitching in their limbs....
A seizure is a symptom of an abnormal brain function. Seizures are divided into several classifications, which include grand mal, petit mal and partial. Common symptoms include a loss of consciousness, changes in emotion, changes in vision and...
During a generalized or grand mal seizure, all areas of the epileptic's brain are involved. Epilepsy symptoms during this type of seizure include loss of consciousness, jerking movements of the arms and legs, biting of the tongue, loss of bladder...
Epilepsy is a condition characterized by abnormal electrical behavior in the brain. This can result in seizures, which can range from being barely noticeable to grand mal seizures, which cause convulsions and loss of consciousness. Epilepsy...
The medication topiramate, also sold under the brand name Topamax, treats epilepsy or other types of seizure disorders, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Topamax is also used to prevent migraine headaches. During the original...
If you have epilepsy, this diagnosis is based on your experience of a recurring pattern of seizures. There are many types of epilepsy and different types of seizures. A seizure occurs when your brain's electrical activity is abnormal, resulting in...
Seizures and epilepsy affect almost 3 million Americans of all ages, according to the Epilepsy Foundation. The difference between seizures and epilepsy is the prevalence, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Seizures due to a...
It is estimated that about 3 percent of the more than three million Americans with epilepsy suffer from seizures because of exposure to intense flashing lights or certain visual patterns. The condition is called photosensitive epilepsy, which is...
Epilepsy syndromes are disorders characterized by seizures and other distinct concurrent symptoms. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke reports that researchers have defined hundreds of epilepsy syndromes. Each syndrome...
When you see a person fall to the ground in a convulsion, you're most likely witnessing a grand mal seizure. It also goes by the name of generalized seizure, but a more descriptive term is tonic-clonic seizure because it indicates two stages. In...
A seizure is a kind of electrical storm in the brain--symptoms of a seizure include convulsions, unconsciousness, falling to the floor or a general mental absence. There are many types of seizures. Everybody has what is known as a "seizure...
Phenobarbital is a prescription barbiturate medication used to treat certain types of epilepsy--a seizure disorder that affects the central nervous system. This medication may also be used to alleviate symptoms of insomnia, a sleeping disorder in...
Epilepsy is a neurological condition characterized by recurrent seizures. An individual is diagnosed with epilepsy if he has two or more unprovoked seizures. According to the Epilepsy Foundation, almost 3 million people in the U.S. have epilepsy,...
As of 2010, what used to be called grand mal epilepsy is now called generalized tonic-clonic seizure disorder. The term describes a pattern where an individual, for one of many reasons, first loses consciousness, then falls. The person next...
A seizure occurs when an electrical misfiring in your brain causes neurological symptoms. The incidence of epilepsy -- a neurological condition involving a pattern of repeated seizures -- is estimated at 1 percent, according to the 2010 article...
Epilepsy is a condition which causes abnormal activity in the neurons, or clusters of nerve cells, in the brain, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (see Reference 1). There is currently no cure for epilepsy,...
Seizures occur when your brain experiences a kind of electrical misfiring or electrical storm. There are many different types of seizure, ranging from a sudden physical jerking action to a period of mental "absence" or a convulsive "grand mal"...
Seizures originate from the abnormal firing of neurons, the cells involved in the brain's function. They're akin to a short circuit of the brain. Children can have different types of seizures, resulting from fever, infection, metabolic...
Epilepsy is a disorder that causes a person to experience frequent seizures. The nervous system uses electrical impulses traveling across and between neurons to distribute messages within the brain, and between the brain, the muscles and the...
Seizures--a symptom of epilepsy--are characterized by behavioral and physical changes (such as blackouts) caused by abnormal electrical activity in the brain. The presentation of symptoms varies depending upon the type of seizure and part of the...
The two main groups of seizures, generalized and partial, are differentiated by the way they manifest in the brain. Generalized seizures are highly hereditary and involve both sides of the brain. Conversely, partial seizures are limited to a...
Epilepsy is a disease caused by surges of electrical activity in the brain, according to the Epilepsy Foundation. About 1 in every 100 people in the U.S. will have one seizure during his life. One seizure, however, does not mean that a person has...
Topamax, the brand name for topiramate, is an anticonvulsant medication. Topamax has specific U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved indications. It is vital, however, that before use the physician is aware of a patient's entire medical...
Epilepsy is a disorder that disrupts the transmission of electrical signals inside the brain. It is most often characterized by unprovoked seizures. Learn about the different causes, symptoms, and treatments of epilepsy in this video.